Judge opens door to do-it-yourself petitions

Independent congressional candidate Vincent Matrisciano created his own nominating petition instead of using the official form provided by the Division of Elections, and an administrative law judge says that’s not enough to keep him off the ballot.

Administrative Law Judge Catherine Tuohy has recommended dismissing a challenge to Matrisciano’s candidacy, ruling that his petition substantially complied with New Jersey election law despite a series of departures from the state’s official documents.

The ruling allows Matrisciano, who is running in New Jersey’s 11th district under the slogan “Common Sense Independent,” to remain on the November general election ballot.

Matrisciano survived a challenge filed by Kean MacLelland, the campaign manager for Joe Hathaway, the Republican nominee against Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge).

Matrisciano submitted 282 signatures, 32 more than the 250 required to qualify. But instead of using the state’s model petition forms, he drafted his own documents after being unable to locate the official forms prominently displayed on the Division of Elections website.

The homemade petition omitted language required by statute stating that signers had not signed another nominating petition for the same office. His oath of allegiance and circulator affidavits also differed from the state’s standard forms.

What was not disputed, however, was the validity of the signatures themselves. MacLelland did not challenge any individual signer, did not allege that any signer was unqualified to vote, and did not claim that any signer had actually signed another petition.

Matrisciano testified that the omissions resulted from a lack of knowledge, not an attempt to deceive voters or election officials.

“This was an error of omission due to a lack of knowledge and not an intent to deceive the signers or the Secretary of State,” the Jefferson businessman said.

Tuohy accepted that explanation.

“I found the testimony of Mr. Matrisciano to be honest and highly credible,” she wrote.

The judge noted that Matrisciano met twice with Division of Elections staff while filing his petition and was never advised that his forms were unacceptable. On his first visit, election officials rejected the filing because he lacked sufficient signatures. He returned with additional signatures, and the petition was accepted.

Tuohy also relied on testimony from Wade Hale, the deputy director of the New Jersey Division of Elections, who said the state accepted Matrisciano’s petition because it complied with the spirit of New Jersey election law.

Hale’s testimony – which he offered, rather than be asked – was significantly different than what he told a judge in March when Republican Tiffany Burress’ petitions were being challenged.  Then, Hale advocated for the rejection of one or two of the petition pages because she had not used the same form

The judge rejected claims that deficiencies in the petition, circulator affidavits, and oath of allegiance required Matrisciano’s removal from the ballot. She found that each document substantially complied with statutory requirements and that the alleged defects were largely technical.

Citing longstanding New Jersey precedent, Tuohy wrote that election laws should be liberally construed to maximize voter choice and should not be used to disqualify candidates for technical reasons.

She concluded that Matrisciano’s petition substantially complied with state law and recommended that the challenge be dismissed.

The decision now goes to Lt. Gov. and Secretary of State Dale Caldwell, who can adopt, modify, or reject the recommendation.

If Caldwell upholds the ruling, the case could become an important ballot-access precedent by reinforcing that substantive compliance with election laws — rather than strict adherence to state-issued forms— may be sufficient when there is no evidence of fraud, voter confusion, or invalid signatures — essentially an invitation for do-it-yourself petitions.