Pinkin cancels Middlesex ballot draw

One hour after her return from an ill-timed junket to Ireland, Middlesex County Clerk Nancy Pinkin has bizarrely cancelled a ballot draw scheduled for 3 PM this afternoon.

“All certifications for candidates nominated to the primary election have been submitted to the Office of the County Clerk, and as a result of said certifications, there will be no ballot drawing for the 2022 Primary Election,” said Kimberly Burnett, a spokesperson for Middlesex County.

It’s not clear why Pinkin isn’t holding the statutorily-required draw for ballot positions in the June 7 primary election.

In the Republican primary for Congress in New Jersey’s 6th district, Sue Kiley has the organization line.  But Pinkin is still expected to conduct a ballot draw to determine where two other candidates, Rik Mehta and Thomas Toomey.

Pinkin also faces a likely legal challenge from the “Democrats for Transparency and Fairness” slate in Piscataway.  They filed four township council candidates and two county commissioner candidates and believe the law requires Pinken to have a head-to-head draw with those two slates for the top ballot position.

Reached on her cell phone after her return flight from Dublin landed at Newark Liberty International Airport, Pinkin declined comment.

“You may not use my personal cell,” she said.  “You have to call the office.”

During one of the busiest weeks of the year for county clerks as they process nominating petitions and prepare the primary ballots, Pinkin went on a trip to Ireland with some of her former colleagues in the New Jersey legislature.