With Maine Democrats sorting out the effect of Graham Platner’s departure from the U.S. Senate race, here’s a tutorial on how ballot vacancies are filled in New Jersey.
When the winner of a primary election for U.S. Senate or Governor drops out…
The state committee members from the party with a vacancy meet to fill the nomination. Party rules would determine whether the nomination goes to the top vote-getter or a runoff is required to win with 50% + 1 of the vote. The last day a vacancy can occur is 70 days before the general election; parties have 68 days to fill the vacancy. The last time this happened was in 2002, when U.S. Senator Bob Torricelli dropped his re-election bid at the end of September and was replaced on the ballot by Frank Lautenberg. Since last year, the full county committee in each county elects its state committee members, ending direct election by primary voters.
In the case of a lieutenant governor, the gubernatorial nominee would select a replacement candidate no later than 68 days before the election, unless a judge granted a different schedule.
When a candidate for Congress, State Senate, Assembly, and for county and partisan municipal offices drops out…
County committee members from the party with the vacancy fill the nomination at a special meeting; only the county committee from the district involved in the vacancy participates in the vote. If multiple counties are involved, the county chairs typically arrange a joint meeting. Party rules would determine whether the nomination goes to the top vote-getter or a runoff is required to win with 50% + 1 of the vote. The last day a vacancy can occur is 70 days before the general election; parties have 68 days to fill the vacancy.
These meetings occur frequently. After Rep. Dean Gallo dropped out of the NJ-11 race for health issues in 1994, Republicans replaced him with Rodney Frelinghuysen. State Sen. Joe Suliga’s unanticipated departure opened the door for Nicholas Scutari, now the Senate President, to run. Following Richard Codey’s retirement in 2023, Democrats in the 37th legislative district held a special meeting to pick a new State Senate nominee; after they picked John McKeon, they held another vote to replace him on the Assembly ticket.
When an independent candidate drops out…
Only Democrats and Republicans may fill vacant slots on the general election ballot. When an independent withdraws, a replacement candidate must gather a new set of signatures on nominating petitions and refile them with the Secretary of State. This happened in 2025 when Green Party gubernatorial candidate Stephen Zielinski dropped out due to a health issue; another Green Party candidate, Lily Benavides, submitted 2,444 signatures, but a judge tossed 446, leaving her two short of being on the ballot.
The deadline for an independent to withdraw is 81 days before the general election; the deadline to file new petitions is 6 days later.
The statute is unclear about how election officials would handle multiple candidates seeking to get on the ballot to replace a single independent; it’s possible that a judge would simply reopen the filing period.
When a candidate for non-partisan municipal office, school board, or fire commissioner drops out…
How a non-partisan municipal candidate is replaced between the petition-filing deadline and ballot printing depends mainly on whether the candidate ran as part of a “bracketed” group that set up a vacancy committee, under the Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law.
When candidates for the same office file together under a shared ballot slogan, state law allows them to designate a three-member committee on vacancies upon submitting their nominating petitions. If a vacancy occurs, the committee can name a replacement by filing the new candidate’s name with the municipal clerk. The replacement automatically takes the place of the original candidate on the ballot without having to collect new petition signatures. The committee on vacancies expires ten days after the filing deadline.
If the candidate was not part of a bracketed group, vacancies may be filled no later than 75 days before the general election by filing a new petition. Again, it’s unclear if a judge would interpret that as a reopening of the filing period. There’s generally no clean mechanism for a late substitution.
The number one thing to remember…
In New Jersey, if you’ve seen one judge, you’ve seen one judge.