A federal judge is planning to hold a hearing on March 18 – one week before the filing deadline – to hear a lawsuit filed by Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) to eliminate organization lines in New Jersey primaries.
U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi is expediting the briefing schedule, setting a March 6 deadline for opposition briefs and motions to intervene, and March 12 for the filing of reply briefs.
He said he would issue a decision by April 5, but appeared open to issuing the decision earlier.
The hearing will focus on evidence that county clerks can’t change the system in time for the June primary. It’s not clear if Quraishi believes they can’t.
While Quraishi didn’t see when he would issue a ruling, the time clock of a filing deadline, ballot draws, and the mailing of vote-by-mail ballots in April looms large.
Kim, a three-term congressman, is seeking emergent relief in asking the court to set aside organization lines for the June 4 primary election. A related lawsuit filed by progressives and some unsuccessful 2020 Democratic congressional candidates, has been languishing since for nearly four years.
He maintained that county lines, a cornerstone of the state’s political power structure, allow some candidates to gain a significant advantage due to their preferential ballot placement and discriminatory ballot design.
Kim wants a judge to order a redesign New Jersey’s ballots to the “office block” style, in which candidates are grouped by the office they are seeking rather than by party or endorsement.
The lawsuit was filed against nineteen county clerks that use a county line system.
Notably, the New Jersey attorney general’s office, which is involved in the 2020 lawsuit, has not filed to intervene in the Kim case.