Local government Frelinghuysen Township is governed under the
Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters
at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle. The committee has an organizational meeting each January to appoint a Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among its members. These officers serve for one year, until the next organizational meeting. In January 2022, Robert Stack was sworn in to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Frank D. Desiderio Jr. until his resignation the previous month.
Federal, state, and county representation Frelinghuysen Township is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district.
Politics As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,583 registered voters in Frelinghuysen Township, of which 248 (15.7% vs. 21.5% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 700 (44.2% vs. 35.3%) were registered as
Republicans and 634 (40.1% vs. 43.1%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 71.0% (vs. 62.3% in Warren County) were registered to vote, including 90.6% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 81.5% countywide). In the
2012 presidential election, Republican
Mitt Romney received 756 votes (65.3% vs. 56.0% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 368 votes (31.8% vs. 40.8%) and other candidates with 22 votes (1.9% vs. 1.7%), among the 1,157 ballots cast by the township's 1,582 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.1% (vs. 66.7% in Warren County). In the
2008 presidential election, Republican
John McCain received 802 votes (64.4% vs. 55.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 405 votes (32.5% vs. 41.4%) and other candidates with 19 votes (1.5% vs. 1.6%), among the 1,246 ballots cast by the township's 1,577 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.0% (vs. 73.4% in Warren County). In the
2004 presidential election, Republican
George W. Bush received 801 votes (66.3% vs. 61.0% countywide), ahead of Democrat
John Kerry with 384 votes (31.8% vs. 37.2%) and other candidates with 20 votes (1.7% vs. 1.3%), among the 1,209 ballots cast by the township's 1,491 registered voters, for a turnout of 81.1% (vs. 76.3% in the whole county). In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 75.7% of the vote (535 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 21.1% (149 votes), and other candidates with 3.3% (23 votes), among the 720 ballots cast by the township's 1,591 registered voters (13 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 45.3%. In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 623 votes (64.5% vs. 61.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 219 votes (22.7% vs. 25.7%), Independent
Chris Daggett with 95 votes (9.8% vs. 9.8%) and other candidates with 15 votes (1.6% vs. 1.5%), among the 966 ballots cast by the township's 1,560 registered voters, yielding a 61.9% turnout (vs. 49.6% in the county). == Education ==