Trenton,NJ – The New Jersey Board of State Canvassers met today and certified the ballots cast for state presidential electors, as well as the candidates for the US Senate, the House of Representatives, the 20th Legislative District for General Assembly and two public questions from the November 4 elections, as required by law.

Democrat Barack Obama was certified as the winner of the presidential election in New Jersey, with 2,215,422 votes, to Republican John McCain’s 1,613,207.

The members to the board were Senator Bill Baroni, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula and Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, while Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells and Division of Elections Director Robert Giles served as the chair and clerk, respectively.

“Today the Board of State Canvassers has certified the final results from the General Election. I am pleased to report that 3,910,220 registered voters cast ballots on November 4, which is the largest voter turnout in the state’s history,” said Secretary Wells. “I would like to thank and recognize the county officials who anticipated a record turnout and worked tirelessly for many months to ensure a fair, accessible and smooth process on Election Day.”

The turnout represents 73% of the record 5,378,792 registered voters in New Jersey. The previous registration and turnout records were set in 2004, when 3,638,153 of the 5 million registered voters, or approximately 73%, turned out for the General Election.

The next step in the presidential election process is the meeting of the College of Electors. On December 15, 2008, at 3 pm, the 56th annual Electoral College will take place at the War Memorial in Trenton when the state’s 15 presidential electors for Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden will meet to cast their ballots for president and vice president for the next term of office.

In addition to certifying the successful candidates, the board certified the total number of registered voters, the number of ballots cast per county, the number of rejected ballots, the percentage of ballots cast and the total number of election districts per county.Information on statewide election matters in New Jersey, including detailed elections results, can be found at www.NJElections.org

To learn more about the diverse array of services and programs offered by the Department of State, visit www.state.nj.us/state