Secretary of State Dale Caldwell overturned an administrative law judge’s decision late Thursday evening and removed Vincent Matrisciano from the ballot as an independent candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th district.
Administrative Law Judge Catherine Tuohy initially ruled in Matrisciano’s favor, finding that although he used a homemade petition rather than the state’s official form, it substantially complied with the law and that there was no evidence of fraud.
But Caldwell, who also serves as lieutenant governor, rejected her central conclusion that the petition substantially complied with state election laws.
The challenge filed by Kean MacLelland, the campaign manager for Republican Joe Hathaway, turned on whether a do-it-yourself petition form that omitted statutorily required voter affirmations could qualify for ballot access; Caldwell, who also serves as lieutenant governor, ruled that it could not qualify.
Tuohy decided that the petition substantially complied with the intent of the election statutes, finding that voters who signed a document entitled “Petition to allow Vincent Matrisciano to appear on the November 2026 General Election Ballot” clearly understood what they were supporting. She also rejected allegations of fraud and found no evidence that any signatories were ineligible.
Caldwell determined that the petition filed by Matrisciano omitted statutory language that affirmed the signers’ pledge to support.
Even if Matrisciano was allowed to create do-it-yourself petitions, his decision to sign the petition of his Republican opponent, Randolph Councilman Joe Hathaway, in advance of the March 23 filing deadline, eliminated his legal right to run for the seat. State law doesn’t allow someone to sign a candidate’s petition and then turn around and run against that candidate.
Caldwell found that Matrisciano’s petition omitted language required under state law stating that signers pledged to support and vote for the candidate and that they had not signed another nomination petition for the same office.
“The use of the term ‘shall’ makes inclusion of these items mandatory rather than discretionary,” Caldwell wrote in his decision.
Because those affirmations were absent from the petition, Caldwell determined that the filing could not be deemed valid under state law. He said the omissions were not mere technical defects but the failure to satisfy mandatory statutory requirements.
The previous rejection of independent Russell Jenkin’s petitions has left Alan Bond as the lone independent against Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) and Hathaway in the general election.