TRENTON -- The competition between 11 gubernatorial hopefuls in the race to succeed Gov. Chris Christie has a big event on Tuesday.
It's the New Jersey primary where registered Democrats and Republicans can head to the polls to vote for their favorite candidate to represent their party in the general election.
New Jersey had 2,048,311 registered Democrats and 1,209,127 Republicans as of April, according to the state's Division of Elections statistics.
But the state's largest number of New Jersey voters -- 2,402,244 to be exact -- have not formally claimed any party affiliation. And if you're one of the state's 2.4 million unaffiliated voters, you too can head to the voting booth.
Here's how it works:
An unaffiliated voter can walk into their polling station Tuesday and request a Republican or Democratic ballot and then cast their vote.
However, there's one caveat.
That person is then registered under that party affiliation.
So if you vote in the Democratic primary, you're now a registered Democrat. If you vote in the Republican primary, you're now a registered Republican.
But an unaffiliated voter who declares a party by voting in the primary can return to their unaffiliated status after the primary by re-registering as an unaffiliated voter, according to the state's Division of Elections.
New Jerseyans can check whether they're registered to vote at the Department of State's Division of Elections website. If voters want to look up their party affiliation, they can create a free online account with the Division of Elections that allows them to access their detailed voting information.
Here's who will be on the ballots statewide in the gubernatorial race:
DEMOCRATS
Bill Brennan, a community activist and former Teaneck firefighter.
Jim Johnson, a former U.S. treasury official under then-President Bill Clinton, a former federal prosecutor, and an attorney.
Raymond Lesniak, a member of the state Senate from Union County who has served in the state Legislature since 1978 and a veteran attorney.
Phil Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, a former finance chair of the Democratic National Committee, and a former Goldman Sachs banking executive.
John Wisniewski, a member of the state Assembly from Middlesex County who has served in the state Legislature for more than 20 years, a veteran attorney, and a former state Democratic Party chair.
Mark Zinna, president of the Tenafly borough council, a councilman since 2012, and owner of a small business that manages data for law firms.
REPUBLICANS
Jack Ciattarelli, a member of the state Assembly from Somerset County since 2011, a former Somerset County freeholder, the owner of a medical publishing company, and a certified public accountant.
Kim Guadagno, the lieutenant governor under Christie since 2010, a former Monmouth County sheriff, and a former federal prosecutor.
Steven Rogers, a Nutley township commissioner, a retired Nutley police officer, a former U.S. military official, and a former adviser to now-President Donald Trump's campaign.
Joseph Rullo, an Ocean County businessman and actor.
Hirsh Singh, an Atlantic County native who is an executive in the aerospace and defense industry.
Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook.