Update: Superior Court Judge John Harrington today set an expedited briefing schedule and a court hearing on April 10.
Alleging that their line was stolen by a county clerk, Burlington County Republicans are going to court to get it back.
On Thursday, County Clerk Joanne Schwartz, a Democrat, became the only election official in the state to unilaterally strip the Burlington GOP of their line following a federal judge’s granting of a preliminary injunction that forced office block ballots in place of organization lines in Democratic primaries only.
This appears to be a test case that could be followed by a bid by Democrats to end lines for Republicans.
Sean Earlen, the GOP county chairman, is seeking temporary restraints to restrict Schwartz from using office block ballots over the objection of the county Republican organization. He wants Schwartz to honor bracketing requests.
“The county clerk has indicated her intention of refusing to honor bracketing request and to impose an office-block ballot design on Republican candidates against their will, “ said the lawyer for the Burlington Republicans, Matt Moench.
Moench argues that “candidates have a right to bracket in the primary under a common slogan and that county clerks lack the discretion to unilaterally decide otherwise.”
“Those rights are statutorily protected by the New Jersey Legislature and upheld by the New Jersey Supreme Court,” Moench wrote in his letter brief. “Clerk Schwartz has no ability to overstep the Legislative mandates, ignore the Supreme Court’s decisions, or expand the Federal District Court’s Orders, and any effort to do so is an abuse of her powers.”
Moench added, “While other county clerks raised various concerns about complying with the preliminary injunction, including concerns that the disparity between the Republican and Democratic primary, would create additional issues for the clerks, Schwartz raised none of those concerns.”
“Her letter to the District Court did not indicate any intention to do anything other than comply with the District Court – an office-block design for the Democratic primary and traditional bracketing for Republicans,” he wrote. “If the Burlington County Clerk knew then that her intention was not to comply with N.J.S.A. 19:49-2, she did not indicate as such to the District Court or to the Burlington County Republican party.”
In a court filing, the Republicans allege that Deputy County Clerk Phil Warren confirmed their bracketing documents before yesterday’s ballot draw. An email from one of Schwartz’s aides, Michelle Zeno, confirmed that the county line would be honored for the GOP.
“It was not until late morning on April 4, 2024, hours before the ballot draw, that BCRRO heard rumors that the Clerk was considering implementing office-block voting on the Republican primary. 33,” Republicans said in court documents. “That was confirmed by counsel for the clerk through a telephone call, and then subsequently confirmed through correspondence with counsel.”
In a statement, Senate Majority Whip Troy Singleton (D-Delran) said the GOP lawsuit “seeks to maintain a system of unfair advantages and unequal treatment – all at the expense of Burlington County taxpayers. I am disappointed they have chosen to fight this decision in the courtroom, rather than allowing for a more fair and transparent election at the ballot box.”
“I called for abolishing the “county line” because I am supportive of there being a uniform ballot and consistent process throughout the State. This is regardless of what county you live in, and especially regardless of what party with which you are affiliated. I applaud Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz’s decision to ensure uniformity across all primary ballots,” Singleton said. “I wholeheartedly support the Burlington County Clerk’s decision to apply a uniform, fair ballot to every candidate running in Burlington County. I’m proud that Burlington County is the only county in which every candidate this year and potentially in the future will get a fair shot in this year’s primary election. These candidates will be chosen by the voters based on their merit and accomplishments rather than ballot positioning.”