US WORLD ELECTION 2012 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POP CULTURE
Christie orders early voting; fax, email votes accepted

13 hr ago By Dan Burns of Reuters
Early voting Saturday and Sunday is on for New Jersey residents affected by superstorm Sandy, by order of Gov. Chris Christie. Also, paper ballots will be available Election Day for polling places without power.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Saturday said he has ordered county clerks to open their offices Saturday and Sunday to allow early voting for residents affected by superstorm Sandy.

New Jersey also announced Saturday that it will allow residents displaced by Sandy to vote by email or fax.

The storm devastated the eastern part of the state, leaving at least 22 dead and more than 1 million customers still without power.

The governor also said paper ballots would be made available on Election Day, Tuesday, at polling stations that still do not have power.

He also said the state will soon have more than 11,000 utility workers on the job of restoring power. Nearly 1.3 million New Jersey electricity customers, about one third of the state, remained without power as of Saturday, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will soon be working with those who are likely to be long-term evacuees, many from the New Jersey shore’s hard-hit barrier islands, to find temporary housing outside of emergency shelters, Christie said.

In a press briefing from the town of Little Ferry, the governor also said he has ordered the natural gas systems shut off on many of the barrier islands hit by the storm because of the fire hazard they pose.

Meanwhile, officials announced that registered voters can vote electronically. A resident must submit a mail-in ballot application by fax or email to the local county clerk.

When the request is received, a ballot will be emailed or faxed back. Ballots must be returned no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ELECTION 2012