The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an effort by New Jersey’s county clerks to halt a lower court decision suspending the county organizational line, meaning that county clerks will still be required to prepare office-block ballots for this year’s Democratic primary.
The court did not provide any specific justification for its decision rejecting a stay, but it did grant an extremely expedited schedule to hear the broader appeal by county clerks. Opening briefs will be due late this week and early next week, with oral arguments taking place next Friday, April 12, in Philadelphia.
The order was signed by Circuit Judge Kent Jordan, a George W. Bush appointee based out of Delaware. Also listed on the order are Circuit Judges Cheryl Ann Krause and Arianna Freeman, both Democratic-appointed judges who sit in the Philadelphia duty station.
“The stay application was a critical phase in the case, and we are immensely gratified that the federal appeals judges agreed with the candidates we are representing,” Yael Bromberg, one of the attorney representing the anti-line plaintiffs, said of the stay denial. “Today we are another step closer to ensuring constitutional, fair primaries without the county line.”
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the use of the county organizational line, the New Jersey ballot design system that groups party-endorsed candidates together, in the 2024 Democratic primary. (Initially, it was unclear whether the ruling would apply to both parties, but Quraishi later specified that since no Republicans were part of the lawsuit, relief would only apply to Democrats.)
The lawsuit had been brought by three Democratic congressional candidates: Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), who’s running for Senate this year, and Sarah Schoengood and Carolyn Rush, both of whom are running for House seats. They argued that the county line infringes on constitutional protections related to ballot access and freedom of association, and needed to be struck down.
Quraishi agreed with them, prompting an immediate appeal from most of the county clerks named as defendants in the lawsuit. The clerks argued that preparing a new type of ballot without county lines a few months before the primary day would lead to difficulties for election administrators, potential issues with voting machines, and confusion for voter accustomed to different ballots; they asked the Third Circuit to stay Quraishi’s ruling while the appeals process played out.
With the Third Circuit’s denial today, clerks will have to begin preparing ballots as ordered by Quraishi: office block-style for Democrats, county line-style for Republicans (though at least one Democratic county clerk is considering using office-block for both parties, which Quraishi’s ruling might allow). Tomorrow is the statewide ballot draw, when clerks will conduct random drawings to determine the order of candidates listed on ballots.
It’s not clear what will happen next in the legal proceedings over the line. While an in-person hearing on the county clerks’ appeal will be held next week, by their own admission that may be too late for any course correction in the administration of this year’s elections.
In fact, one county clerk, Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon, said that she will no longer participate in the appeal, and will instead focus on preparing ballots per Quraishi’s order.
“My office will not be continuing in the appeal of the court’s injunction,” Hanlon said. “That being said, my office will continue working as fast as possible to try to come up with the best solution, in coordination with the Superintendent and Board of Elections, as well as our ballot printing vendor and representatives from ES&S, to ensure a that we can comply with the Court order and effectuate an election with integrity for our Monmouth County voters.”
This story was updated at 3:59 p.m. with comment from Bromberg and Hanlon.