NJ Hall of Fame Voting Regulations

Anyone may nominate an individual to the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Candidates must have been born in New Jersey or have lived here for at least five years and must have made a significant contribution to our state, the nation or the world.

There are five categories for nominees:

1.The Enterprise Category is open to scientists, business leaders, inventors, leaders in medicine, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

2.Arts & Entertainment Category includes musicians, singers, songwriters, actors & actresses, artists, dancers and those who work in related fields.

3.The Sports Category is open not only to athletes, but also to coaches, owners and others in the field of sports.

4.The General Category is a large category encompassing educators, military leaders, writers, poets, scholars and others not specifically falling into the other categories.

5.The Historical Category is open for deceased New Jerseyans whose contributions transcend any one particular category.

Self nominations are not accepted nor are incomplete nomination forms. In order to avoid conflicts and partisanship, politicians are eligible for nomination if they are retired from office and will not run again.

Nominations to the New Jersey Hall of Fame follow a rigorous process.

First, nominations are reviewed by our Expert Panelists. A group of more than 30 of the most prominent individuals in their selected fields, from historians to journalists, sift through our master list of nominations. As of now, the master list contains approximately 250 names. Once someone’s nomination has been approved by our expert panel, the name stays on the master list indefinitely.

The experts approve a list which is then submitted to Hall of Fame Voting Academy, a group of more than 100 of the most prominent organizations throughout the state. The Academy votes to narrow the field to ten individuals in each category

The Board of Commissioners prepares and votes on a final list for the public vote. The nominees are announced in September of each year. The public votes through the Hall of Fame website.

Following the certification of the public vote, the New Jersey Hall of Fame inducts the top vote getter in each category, as well as one or two others as the board deems deserving, in order to have a balanced slate of inductees. The prominent consulting and accounting firm of J.H. Cohn, LLP certifies the accuracy of this vote.

It is important to note that any living inductee to the NJHOF must accept his or her award in person at the annual induction ceremony in order to be officially included as a member of the Hall of Fame. Each inductee will have three years to accept or else his or her name will revert back to nominee status and must be voted on again unless the Hall of Fame voting committee approves an extension.

Living inductees who have not accepted their awards in person will not be included in museum displays unless the Board of Commissioners waives the requirement.