DiMaio calls for SCI probe after judge says election officials overstepped authority

Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio is calling on the State Commission of Investigation to examine the state’s decision not to enforce a law requiring petition circulators to be eligible New Jersey voters.

The request follows an 18-page decision issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi, who found that Libertarian congressional candidate Lana Leguía was harmed by the Division of Elections’ handling of her nominating petition but ruled that he lacked the legal authority to return her to the November ballot.

Quraishi’s decision upheld the central conclusion of an earlier Appellate Division ruling: Secretary of State Dale Caldwell did not have the authority to disregard a statute that remained on the books and had not been repealed by the Legislature.

The law requires individuals circulating nominating petitions for congressional candidates to be eligible New Jersey voters.  Caldwell had declined to enforce the requirement, a policy that state officials said was intended to avoid confusion and ensure candidates were not disqualified based on a restriction the administration viewed as legally questionable.

But the Appellate Division rejected that approach, finding that the executive branch could not simply suspend enforcement of a law enacted by the Legislature.  Quraishi’s ruling left that finding intact, while concluding that Leguía’s federal lawsuit could not provide the remedy she sought.

“This executive overreach is a gross abuse of the separation of powers,” DiMaio (R-Warren) said. “This is Civics 101.  There is a process in place to change laws, and that is through the Legislative branch, not the arbitrary whims of the Executive.”

Leguía was seeking to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts.  She was removed from the ballot after the Division of Elections’ interpretation of the circulator requirement left her short of the number of valid signatures needed to qualify.

She argued that state officials’ decision not to enforce the law, combined with guidance provided to candidates, improperly affected her campaign and deprived her of ballot access.  Quraishi agreed that she had been wronged but said the federal court lacked standing to restore her candidacy.

DiMaio said the Attorney General’s Office should not be the sole entity responsible for reviewing the conduct of the Division of Elections because the office represented the state agency in court.

“That’s exactly why the Legislature created the State Commission of Investigation — an independent body with subpoena power, outside the AG’s chain of command,” DiMaio said.

The Republican leader connected the controversy to other disputes involving the Sherrill administration’s handling of election and motor vehicle laws, including the transmission of voter-registration information from the Motor Vehicle Commission despite applicants indicating that they were not U.S. citizens.

“Democrats write and pass bad laws, as we’ve witnessed in real time concerning the Motor Vehicle Commission voter registration opt-out and illegal immigrants being allowed to obtain driver’s licenses,” DiMaio said. “Now we see real-world consequences of the Sherrill Administration ignoring statutes they don’t like.”

DiMaio said state officials apparently advised candidates that they did not need to comply with the circulator requirement, only for the courts to later reject the policy.

“Their bad advice, their defying the law, cost this candidate her spot on the ballot,” he said. “For all the cries we hear about defending democracy, this was truly an injustice to Ms. Leguía, her supporters, all voters, and our constitutional order.”

DiMaio said Republicans would continue pressing for an investigation.

“We cannot and will not let this issue die as the news cycle moves on,” he said. “Republicans stand for free and fair elections, from the petition to the voting booth.”