As a federal judge deliberates on a lawsuit seeking to abolish the county organizational line, the top Democrats and Republicans in the New Jersey Legislature are saying that ballot design debates should be handled by the legislature – and that they’re open to voluntarily looking at reforms.
The lawsuit, which was brought by Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), argues that the New Jersey practice of grouping party-endorsed candidates together on primary ballots is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi heard evidence yesterday from Kim and from the county clerks his suit names as defendants; a ruling could be forthcoming sometime in the next few weeks.
But in a statement released this evening, State Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Linden), Senate Minority Leader Anthony M. Bucco (R-Boonton), Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge), and Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio (R-Hackettstown) jointly argued that the legislature should be the place where such matters are decided.
“As many involved in the legal process have pointed out, there is longstanding precedent that the legislature has the authority to determine the law regarding ballot design and the appropriate discretion used by county clerks,” the four legislators said. “Accordingly, the proper authority to consider modifications is the legislature.”
That echoes arguments made yesterday by attorneys representing the county clerks, who said that Quraishi should leave the issue to those who directly oversee it.
“You don’t legislate from a courtroom” that which can be handled by an actual legislature, attorney Angelo Genova said.
In their statement today, the four legislative leaders indicated that they would indeed be willing to consider making changes to the way New Jersey ballots are laid out; the state’s ballots are an anomaly nationwide, with most other states simply grouping candidates by the office they’re seeking rather than by party endorsement.
“As leaders, we have a demonstrated record of working in a bipartisan way on issues regarding voting rights and the transparency of counting ballots, and we are prepared to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure public trust in a transparent and democratic process in New Jersey,” they said. “We are committed to beginning a public process on ballot design in New Jersey, including a thorough and thoughtful review of other states, as well as a process that involves input from the public.”
Any reforms approved by the legislature, though, would likely fall short of what Kim and his fellow anti-line advocates have in mind, which is the total abolition of the county line system.
There are a few legislators from both parties who have taken anti-line stances; State Sens. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) and Troy Singleton (D-Delran) are the sponsors of a bill to eliminate the line, and State Sens. Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City), Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City), and Parker Space (R-Wantage) have all expressed their interest in pursuing office-block ballots as well.
But most legislators are supportive of the county line, which isn’t surprising given that nearly all of them utilize it in their own primary elections. If the legislature were to make ballot reforms, it seems likelier that they’d be more akin to what State Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones has proposed, which is the standardization of ballot design procedures statewide.