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Property taxes, caregiving top issues in June primary
Older voters will have a big say in the outcome of the primary on Tuesday, June 10. Issues on their agenda include property taxes and support for caregivers.
For John Vajda, 85, high property taxes will be a major issue in determining his vote in New Jersey’s upcoming primary election.
Vajda and his wife, Barbara, have lived in the same single-family, three-bedroom house in Verona, in Essex County, since 1987. Their property taxes have soared since then. In just the last 15 years, their bill has climbed about 40 percent, to more than $12,500 a year.
New Jersey has the highest effective property tax rate in the country. A tax relief program for older residents, called Senior Freeze, reduces Vajda’s bill by about $3,300, and a second break knocks off a bit more, bringing it down to about $7,400.
“To me, it means a major difference,” says Vajda, a retired pharmaceutical executive. “Hopefully, we can keep Senior Freeze in place. ... It may prevent a whole bunch of people from having to give up their homes.”
Older voters like Vajda will have a big say in the outcome of the Tuesday, June 10 contest. An AARP analysis of New Jersey elections going back to 2020 found that voters 50 and older turned out in larger numbers than any other age group. In off-year elections like this one, the analysis showed that more than 60 percent of the electorate statewide was over 50, with some counties exceeding 70 percent.
“If you want to get elected in New Jersey, you really have to be paying attention to what 50-plus voters are looking for,” says Crystal McDonald, senior associate state director for advocacy at AARP New Jersey.
She says these are the top issues AARP hears about from its members:
That makes researching candidates’ positions even more critical, says Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University.
“We’re also in a period where a lot of politicians are advocating for significant cutbacks in government,” says Rasmussen. “It’s important for senior voters to understand where candidates stand, which of them would keep these programs and which ones would discontinue them.”
Adds AARP’s McDonald: “At the end of the day, people want to be able to retire in New Jersey. We want to live, grow up [and] grow old right here with our families.”
For information on how to vote in the June primary, visit aarp.org/njvotes or the state’s voter information portal at nj.gov/state/elections/voter-registration.shtml.
Drew Jubera spent 21 years as a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has written for the Bulletin since 2009.
Also of interest:
- Gubernatorial Candidates on Their Plans for Older Residents
- AARP New Jersey-Siena College Poll
- How to Vote in New Jersey's Elections
Quick Tricks to Make Life Easier for Caregivers
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