Judge kills NJ’s controversial ballot design for June primary
- West Windsor Democrats
- Mar 29, 2024
- 4 min read
The judge ordered the use of office block ballots for the June primary, where candidates are placed together by the office they are seeking.
As published by POLITICO
By DANIEL HAN
03/29/2024 12:32 PM EDT
New Jersey’s controversial ballot design that gives party-backed candidates an advantage will be scrapped in the June primary, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi granted the preliminary injunction sought by Rep. Andy Kim and two Congressional candidates to eliminate the so-called county line, a feature unique to New Jersey elections that’s given local party bosses inordinate influence over elections. In 19 of 21 counties in the state, candidates backed by county political parties appear in a single column or row, placing them more prominently on the ballot and giving them a nearly insurmountable edge.
The judge ordered the use of office block ballots for the June primary, where candidates are placed together by the office they are seeking. His ruling applies to all offices on the ballot.
The decision is likely to be appealed, but until then it takes away a key tool wielded by political bosses in the state. And while its impact is limited in the Democratic Senate primary since first lady Tammy Murphy has dropped out, it will upend contested primaries across the state — including the House race for the seat held by Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez. His father, Sen. Bob Menendez, is under indictment and will not run in the Democratic primary but is considering an independent run in November if he is not convicted of corruption charges.
The county line — and how it is awarded — became the focal issue in the Democratic primary to replace Menendez. In some parts of New Jersey, a single party boss can award the favorable primary ballot spot while in others, hundreds of low-level party officials vote by secret ballot on who will get the county line.
“Today’s decision is a victory for a fairer, more democratic politics in New Jersey. It’s a victory built from the incredible grassroots work of activists across our state who saw an undemocratic system marginalizing the voices of voters, and worked tirelessly to fix it,” Kim said in a statement. “While fixing this unfair ballot system is a massive step forward towards perfecting our democracy, there is still work to be done. Both in New Jersey and nationwide, we need to regain the trust of the voters we serve.”
First lady Tammy Murphy — who abruptly suspended her Senate campaign on Sunday — entered the race in November as the front-runner since powerful Democratic party leaders in the state backed her candidacy. Murphy would have had the line overseeing approximately two-thirds of the Democratic electorate, a strong advantage in a statewide primary.
But Kim was able to win the line in all but one county that awarded it in secret ballot conventions. His margin of victory at those contests were large and underscored the grassroots energy behind his candidacy. He turned what should have been an advantage for Murphy into a political foil on the campaign trail, bemoaning the state’s “broken” machine politics.
Murphy dropped out saying she did not want to wage a bitter and expensive primary against Kim, a fellow Democrat. Party leaders then agreed to allow Kim to run on the county lines Murphy would have had. Kim is now running on the line in 17 of the 19 counties that use it, but said he would still push forward with his lawsuit to end the line.
Kim filed the suit in February — along with House candidates Sarah Schoengood and Carolyn Rush — when Murphy was still in the race and had a commanding advantage in county lines. The lawsuit names county clerks in the 19 counties that use the line as defendants.
The Camden County Democrats also intervened in defense of the county line (ballots in Camden County are often used as the poster child of the abuse of the line, with non-endorsed candidates appearing several columns away on the primary ballot).
The lawsuit has moved at lightning speed, especially compared to a similar legal challenge filed in 2021 against the line that has moved at a glacial pace. Attorney General Matt Platkin submitted a letter saying the county line was unconstitutional and his office would not defend the law, a decision Gov. Phil Murphy publicly denounced.
Attorneys defending the line have argued in recent legal filings that Murphy dropping out of the Senate race undermines Kim’s arguments that he needed a preliminary injunction, a claim Kim’s attorneys have rejected.
The Senate race has sparked debate over redesigning ballots in the state. State lawmakers have promised to address ballot design laws in the state but have not committed to any proposals (the Senate president, who also runs a county party, has been a supporter of the line).
Phil Murphy also supports the line, but has told reporters that he is open minded to changes in the law.
“I frankly think the line has worked pretty well, and if progressives are out there trying to look at whether or not they got a good government over the past 6½ years, I’d like them to find a more progressive government in America ... with yours truly elected twice on the line in both cases,” he told reporters earlier this week.
Murphy’s office declined to comment