The federal case to consider the constitutionality of the county organizational line began this morning, and U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi sounded skeptical of some parts of both sides’ arguments before the court broke for lunch.
The lawsuit, which was brought by Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and two congressional candidates, argues that the county line – the New Jersey ballot design system that groups party-endorsed candidates together on primary ballots – unfairly favors some candidates and should be abolished. It claims that Kim and his co-plaintiffs will be irreparably harmed if relief is not granted, prompting an expedited court schedule.
Quraishi began today’s hearing by noting that it will be exclusively today’s hearing, and that neither side will have the ability to go longer.
“You have today and today only,” he said. “This is not a situation where you can request additional time or days.”
Quraishi also addressed a letter sent to him yesterday by New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin saying that the attorney general’s office will not intervene in the case, and that it in fact agrees with Kim on the county line’s unconstitutionality. Quraishi said he was hesitant to consider the letter in his eventual ruling, given that Platkin is not directly part of the case.
“He’s lobbing his opinion from the cheap seats without anything behind it,” Quraishi said. “He’s trying to backdoor his opinion without getting into the case.”
Angelo Genova, one of the lead lawyers representing the county clerks, called the Platkin letter a “litigation grenade” and said it shouldn’t be considered; Flavio Komuves, representing Kim, argued that it should be. Quraishi said that both sides will have until Friday to submit arguments for considering or ignoring the letter.
If nothing else, that implies Quraishi likely won’t rule on the case before next Monday, March 25, which is New Jersey’s filing deadline. Even if Quraishi does ultimately strike down the line, it may be too late for candidates who might have filed in a line-free primary but chose not to as long as the line remained in place.
In his opening statement for the plaintiffs, Komuves repeated much of the rhetoric that anti-line advocates have used for years (including in a separate case before Quraishi that’s been slowly progressing since 2020).
“The design of New Jersey’s primary ballots is a national outlier and a national embarrassment,” Komuves said. “Because of the way our ballots are prepared, and are prepared at taxpayers’ expense, races are not presented to voters in an even-handed way or a constitutional way.”
Komuves further argued that – contrary to what lawyers representing the county clerks have said – there remains enough time to change the ballots in time for the June 4 primary. He set April 20 as the latest possible date for when changes to ballot design could occur.
“New Jersey’s election infrastructure can accommodate alternatives to the county line,” Komuves said. “If the court were to order an [office-block] ballot … that would not require new equipment, that would not require new software… Office-block ballots are being used with the equipment we have today.”
Quraishi largely let Komuves make his opening argument uninterrupted, but he did not do the same for Genova and fellow defendant counsel Bill Tambussi, who gave two separate opening statements for the defendants’ side.
Genova began by arguing that it was too late for any changes to occur to New Jersey’s ballot design before this year’s primary, and accused Kim of deliberately filing his lawsuit at an inopportune time in the cycle.
“This was by design, this was orchestrated, this was manipulated to get this before the court on the eve of an election to disrupt that election and put all these public officials in a position where they have to hurry around and scurry around,” Genova said.
Genova said judges should refrain from “legislat[ing] from a courtroom” prior to an election, which drew something of a rebuke from Quraishi – who, after all, is tasked with determining constitutional questions like Kim’s lawsuit poses.
Genova further argued that a change in ballot design – a design that’s been in place for 100 years – could serve to create disruption for voters and “introduce confusion for people who have to react to something new.” Quraishi seemed skeptical of that reasoning.
“The argument that ‘this is how we’ve always done it, so this is how it should be’ is not going to convince this court,” Quraishi said.
Tambussi, meanwhile, contended that even beyond the logistical issues posed by the timing of Kim’s lawsuit, the line is in fact constitutional. By overruling the line, Tambussi said, Quraishi would be interfering with political parties’ right to associate.
“That right to associate means that the political party has the right to identify those candidates with which it means to associate,” Tambussi said.
Once again, Quraishi sounded dubious.
“Why can’t the counties endorse … and stay away from the ballot?” the judge asked. “Why does it have to be that they also control the ballot?”
Following opening statements, the plaintiffs shifted to interviewing their first expert witness: Ryan Macias, an elections administration expert who testified on many of the nuts and bolts of ballot design and elections technology. Macias said that he believes New Jersey’s election systems can indeed accommodate an office-block ballot design.
Later today, two elections-focused professors, Sam Wang and Julia Sass-Rubin, are set to be interviewed and cross-examined, as are the three plaintiffs themselves: Kim, Sarah Schoengood, and Carolyn Rush.
If the line is indeed struck down, it would be an earthquake in New Jersey politics, where county and local parties have long relied on the line to boost their preferred candidates and keep strong challengers at bay.
But even if Quraishi rules in the defendants’ favor, changes may be coming to New Jersey ballots anyways. A number of prominent politicians, including two top Democratic candidates for governor in 2025, have joined Kim in calling for the end of the county line, and others like State Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones have said there is a need for some reforms to state ballot procedures.