After a tricky run in the New Jersey Legislature, the question of legalization of marijuana for all adult use is coming to the people in the form of a ballot question on Nov. 3, 2020. Given the uncertainties in the state due to the coronavirus, the slow and cautious move toward reopening, and questions regarding a potential return of the virus in the fall, how robust will voting be? The state is taking measures to ensure that every New Jersey voter will have the opportunity to exercise his or her right to vote in November, whether that vote will be cast in person or by mail.

Background

In May 2017, State Senator Nicholas Scutari introduced a measure to legalize adult use marijuana, including limits on personal possession of cannabis products, a ban on home cultivation, and a progressive state sales tax with annual increases up to 25%. Then Republican Governor Chris Christie opposed the legalization efforts, but after the election of Democrat Governor Phil Murphy in 2018, legalization was back on the table, with multiple competing proposals. The New Jersey Marijuana Legalization Act, introduced on June 7, 2018, would have, in its final form, allowed adults over 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, and imposed a $42 per ounce excise tax and local transfer or user tax to be determined.