NEWARK - The Martin Luthor King, Jr. Justice Building - the place transmits a sense of history and gravitas when you walk in here and stand amid busts of the guardians of democracy, as Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin walks over on the first day of early voting and supplies some context.

The voters of CD-11 have begun the process of selecting the congressional successor to Mikie Sherrill, who left her seat after last year's statewide general election to assume the governorship of New Jersey.

Portions of three counties - Morris, Essex, and Passaic - constitute the 11th District.

Here at the Essex County Clerk's Office next to the county Hall of Records, "We're embarking on our busiest election year in the history of Essex County with these special elections along with senate, county executive, and a lot of other important elections," says Durkin.

"In the Essex portion we have mailed out 30,000 vote-by-mail ballots to voters and we've seen a 30% return rate on those ballots, which will increase exponentially over the next seven days," the clerk explains, in advance of next Thursday, Feb. 5th. Election Day.

The special general election for Sherrill's seat is scheduled for April 16th. The winner of that election will have to run again in the June primary and general election.

For more from Clerk Durkin on this special election and the early voting process, in addition to a brief tour of the statues that grace the entranceway to his office, including that of the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, please see below: