Assembly passes ballot design bill; Scutari says fine-tuning may be needed

The Assembly voted on Thursday to overhaul the state’s primary election process, approving a bill that would codify office-block ballots and officially end the reign of the county line in state politics. 

The Assembly voted 70-1 to approve the bill. The Senate has yet to act on major ballot-redesign legislation, but Senate President Nick Scutari said Thursday that the bill provides a strong framework for senators to work from.

Besides codifying the office block, the bill would also require ballots to meet certain design standards, allow candidates in multi-seat elections to “associate” with and be placed next to their running mates (though without visible brackets), and bar all slogans that include the name of other candidates on the primary ballot.

A 12-member, bipartisan panel developed the legislation after a half-dozen public hearings and days of behind-the-scenes adjustments. Assemblymen Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson) and Al Barlas (R-Cedar Grove) co-chaired the ballot design panel and praised the bill before it passed the Assembly on Thursday.

New Jersey’s electoral system was thrown on its head earlier this year when federal judge Zahid Quraishi ruled the county line, which gave party leaders the ability to grant an advantageous ballot slot to endorsees, was likely unconstitutional. Quraishi ordered Democrats to hold a line-free primary election earlier this year.

“At the end of this long process, we arrived at a bill that complies with the judge’s order, ends the county line, and requires office-block ballots,” Wimberly said on the floor Thursday. “I am proud of the committee’s measured approach in addressing this issue quickly.”

Scutari said he agrees with the broad strokes of the bill but expects there will be some kinks to work out. Scutari said legislators have been in discussion with printers who are concerned that longer hyphenated names may not be able to fit on some ballots due to the bill’s 12-point font requirement.

“I think that they have a pretty good framework, and we had some input on it,” Scutari told reporters Thursday. “So I think we’re in a pretty good place, but I don’t know if it’s going to be exactly the same.”

Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato (D-Jersey City) was the sole legislator who voted against the bill.

“I voted ‘no’ on Assembly Bill A5116 because I was not comfortable with the proposed changes to the primary election ballot design,” McCann Stamato said in a statement. “While I respect my colleagues who worked on the committee to explore ballot redesign, I believe this approach does not reflect the will of the people.”

McCann Stamato has endorsed Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop for governor — Fulop’s attorney has criticized the bill for a provision that bars candidates from including the name of another candidate in their slogan.

New Jersey Working Families Party State Director Antoinette Miles, a top progressive advocate, praised the prohibition of the county line but said the bill should have included measures that would guarantee a “fair and neutral” ballot.

“This day has come about because advocates have, through organizing and litigation, successfully changed the way politics works in a state that has for too long been controlled by political insiders,” Miles said in a release. “At the same time, the bill the Assembly passed today falls short in a number of key respects and fails to implement best practices, like a computerized candidate draw, that would help restore confidence in our electoral system.”

Updated: Dec. 19, 6:47 p.m.