A federal judge will temporarily preserve Libertarian Lana Leguía’s bid to return to the ballot in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional races, setting up an expedited hearing next week and promising a final decision by the end of the month.
U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi said Monday that he would issue a temporary restraining order later in the day following a telephonic conference with attorneys for Leguía, Secretary of State Dale Caldwell and the New Jersey Republican State Committee.
Quraishi scheduled an in-person hearing on Leguía’s request for a preliminary injunction for August 25 at 10 a.m. in his Trenton courtroom. He said he expects to issue a decision no later than August 31.
The fast timetable would still give county clerks nearly three weeks before a September 19 deadline to begin mailing ballots. But an appeal by either side to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit could quickly consume that cushion and bring the ballot deadline considerably closer than it now appears.
Leguía is seeking to run in the 7th district against two-term Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot. The race is expected to be among the most competitive House contests in the country.
The New Jersey Republican State Committee has asked to intervene; Quraishi approved that on Friday.
Quraishi directed the NJGOP to file a proposed consent order allowing it to intervene by Tuesday at 5 PM. Its opposition to Leguía’s preliminary injunction request is due Friday at noon.
Any other party seeking to intervene must file a motion by Wednesday at noon.
The judge also ordered the parties to submit a joint letter by Friday outlining what they intend to present at the hearing, including their witnesses, anticipated testimony, and the amount of time needed for opening statements, questioning, and closing arguments.
At a minimum, Quraishi expects testimony from Leguía, her petition circulators, someone familiar with the deadline for finalizing the ballot and whether it can be delayed, and a state official who can explain the purpose of New Jersey’s residency requirement for petition circulators.
The court also wants testimony addressing how the state enforces that requirement in primary elections compared with general elections, potentially opening a broader examination of whether New Jersey applies its election laws consistently.
Leguía was removed from the ballot after state courts found that some of the people who circulated her nominating petitions did not meet New Jersey’s residency requirement.
Her federal lawsuit argues that the requirement violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
|But the Attorney General’s Office, representing Caldwell, told Quraishi earlier Monday that Leguía should be restored to the ballot under state severability law while simultaneously rejecting the constitutional arguments at the heart of her case.
Caldwell formally took no position on Leguía’s application for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction. Still, the state argued that fairness, the public interest, the balance of hardships, and New Jersey law favor allowing her to run.
Quraishi appeared to take notice of the state’s unusual posture.
“If Defendant and/or the Attorney General of New Jersey intends to take a position aside from the ‘no position’ it has taken,” the judge said, the court must be notified by Friday at noon.
Leguía may file a reply by Sunday at 5 PM. Caldwell may also submit a reply by that deadline, but Quraishi limited the state’s filing to the question of whether the invalid residency provision can be severed from the remainder of New Jersey’s election law.
The deadline for Caldwell to formally answer Leguía’s federal complaint has been stayed until the preliminary injunction dispute is resolved.
Quraishi denied a New Jersey Globe request for listen-only public access to Monday’s call – he is not required to do so — but said transcripts would be made immediately available upon request from the court reporter. A transcript was not immediately available.
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