[23] The township is part of the state's South Jersey region and the larger Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Before the region was settled by Europeans, the Kechemeche tribe of the Lenape Native Americans inhabited South Jersey, and traveled to the barrier islands during the summer to hunt and fish.

[24][25][26] On August 28, 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson entered the Delaware Bay and stayed one day on land, north of what is now Cape May Point.

The village once functioned as the court house for the county, along with Coxehall, built by Dr. Daniel Coxe to be a center for a manorial style of government.

[28][29][30] The sole remaining section of the original structure, which was moved several times during its history, is now preserved as Coxe Hall Cottage at Historic Cold Spring Village, a 19th-century living history museum in Lower Township.

[2][3] Census-designated places (CDPs) located within Lower Township include Diamond Beach (with a 2010 population of 136,[34]), Erma (2,134[35]), North Cape May (3,226[36]) and Villas (9,483[37]).

[38] Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bennett, Cold Spring, Cold Spring Inlet, Ephraims Island, Fishing Creek, Higbees Landing, Miami Beach, Schellengers Landing, Sewells Point, South Cape May, Sunset Beach, Town Bank, Weers Landing, and Wildwood Gables.

[39][40] Schellengers Landing is where boats dock and where a bridge between Cape Island and the mainland is located.

[57][58] Lower Township operates within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council-Manager form of government, which was adopted in 1984.

[66] In January 2017, Roland Roy was selected from three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the Third Ward seat vacated by Erik Simonsen when he took office as mayor; Roy served on an interim basis until the November 2017 general election, when he was elected to serve the balance of the term through December 2018.

[67][68] In February 2020, the Township Council selected Keven Coombs to fill the Ward II seat expiring in December 2022 that became vacant when David Perry was chosen to serve as deputy mayor.

[72][73][74] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 2nd congressional district is represented by Jeff Van Drew (R, Dennis Township).

[76] For the 2024-2025 session, the 1st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Mike Testa (R, Vineland) and in the General Assembly by Antwan McClellan (R, Ocean City) and Erik K. Simonsen (R, Lower Township).

[77] Cape May County is governed by a five-person Board of County Commissioners whose members are elected at-large on a partisan basis to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year; At an annual reorganization held each January, the commissioners select one member to serve as director and another to serve as vice-director.

[78] As of 2025[update], Cape May County's Commissioners are Director Leonard C. Desiderio (R, Sea Isle City, 2027),[79] Robert Barr (R, Ocean City; 2025),[80] Will Morey (R, Wildwood Crest; 2026),[81] Melanie Collette (R. Middle Township; 2026),[82] and Vice-Director Andrew Bulakowski (R, Lower Township; 2025).

[83][78][84] The county's constitutional officers are Clerk Rita Marie Rothberg (R, 2025, Ocean City),[85][86] Sheriff Robert Nolan (R, 2026, Lower Township)[87][88] and Surrogate E. Marie Hayes (R, 2028, Ocean City).

[93][94] In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 52.2% of the vote (5,831 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama, who received 45.1% (5,040 votes), with 11,177 ballots cast among the township's 14,435 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.4%.

[95] In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 54.3% of the vote (5,951 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry, who received around 44.1% (4,830 votes), with 10,961 ballots cast among the township's 14,709 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.5.

[105] Lower Township School District serves public-school students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

Cape May officials have argued that the district's funding formula based on assessed property values unfairly penalizes Cape May, which has higher property values and a smaller number of high-school students as a percentage of the population than the other constituent districts, especially Lower Township.

[133] In 2010 Our Lady Star of the Sea merged into Cape Trinity Regional School (Pre-K–8) in North Wildwood.

[137] The current consolidated school building is in Middle Township, with a Cape May Courthouse postal address and within the CMCH census-designated place.