Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka led a chorus of voices calling on legislators to end the county line during a ballot design committee hearing Tuesday evening.
The hearing, held at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, was the second Assembly ballot design committee hearing to accept public testimony. The bipartisan committee — which was tasked with recommending ballot design reforms after the controversial county line system was deemed likely unconstitutional — has at least two more hearings scheduled.
Like the first public hearing, essentially every speaker condemned the county line, though some varied on the specific reforms they would want to implement. The committee’s very first hearing was limited to experts and county election officials.
Fulop, who is running for governor as an anti-establishment progressive, said Judge Zahid Quraishi’s requirements for a fair ballot were clear and that a committee would not be needed for a simple codification of the ruling that struck down the line earlier this year. Fulop spoke specifically against bracketing and other special marks that would denote a “preferred” candidate.
“If the goal was to codify the ruling of Judge Quraishi, then a committee wouldn’t really be necessary on that front,” Fulop testified. “But if there’s an intent to circumvent, like some think there is, then clearly this is the process that one would pursue.”
Assemblyman Al Barlas (R-Cedar Grove), one of the committee’s co-chairs, said before the hearing that the public’s participation has helped inform legislators of ballot options.
“It just isn’t as simple as, ‘Do what the judge told you to do,” Barlas said.
Baraka testified after Fulop and was just as clear in his admonition of the line. The Newark mayor, who is also running for governor,
“We could either attempt to manipulate and build a line by another name, knowing that it creates barriers to true democratic choice and reinforces a sense of disenfranchisement among voters, or we could end this practice now,” Baraka said. “No political maneuvering, no more power plays. We have the opportunity, right here, right now, to respect the court’s decision on a ballot design and commit ourselves to a clear democratic path forward.”
About another dozen members of the public testified, including former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks. Claybrooks announced a run for Assembly on Tuesday on a slate backed by Fulop — in her testimony, she said she was once removed from the line after she refused to follow directions from a Democratic party leader, and that the line allows “party boss” systems to flourish.
“My concern around not upholding the judge’s recommendation for his ruling is that we will continue to create ways for people to be locked out of the ballot,” Claybrooks testified. “Good policies are made by people, elected people, and I do believe everyone has a fair right to run.”
The committee’s next hearing will be Monday in South Jersey — the committee has yet to specify a location and time.