ELECTION MONTH IS UNDERWAY: NJ Republicans are mailing in more ballots in ‘encouraging’ early sign for Jack Ciattarelli.

Garden State Republicans have so far notched an 18.61% return rate for their mail-in ballots, outpacing the Democrats’ 16.55%, according to data compiled and analyzed by DecisionDeskHQ’s director of political science, Michael Pruser.

GOP pollster Adam Geller, who has worked with the Ciattarelli campaign, told The Post that Republicans have historically been less inclined to vote by mail, meaning this lead in the rate of early ballot returns could be a hopeful sign.

“Clearly, it’s encouraging for the Republicans right now,” Geller said. “You could argue that, in addition to coming around to vote by mail, it could be a measurement of the enthusiasm for the candidate.”

Stay tuned.