Judge orders scrapping New Jersey controversial ballot design for Senate primary

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 29, 2024 1:21 PM EDT


WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - New Jersey's ballot design that gave party-backed candidates an advantage will be scrapped in the June Senate primary, a federal judge said on Friday, granting a preliminary injunction sought by Democratic U.S. Representative Andy Kim and two congressional candidates.

U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi on Friday ordered the use of office block ballots for the primary, where candidates are placed together by the office they seek.

Several Democrats are eyeing the Senate seat occupied by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, including Kim. New Jersey's primaries will be held on June 4. The preliminary injunction sought to eliminate a so-called county line, which gives local party leaders excessive influence over elections.

Democrats are strongly favored to hold the seat in November. New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972. Menendez's seat is up for reelection in November and more than a dozen people have filed to run.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-orders-scrapping-new-jersey-controversial-ballot-design-senate-primary-2024-03-29/

[brooklynite]

1. UPDATE: NJ judge says scrapping controversial ballot design applies only to Democratic primary, not GOP

U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi, who granted a preliminary injunction eliminating New Jersey’s controversial ballot design in the June primary, said Saturday that his order only applied to the Democratic primary and not the Republican one.

The court order brings another twist to the legal battle over New Jersey’s unique primary ballot design known as the county line, where candidates backed by county parties are placed in a single column or row — making them appear more prominently on the ballot and giving them a significant advantage.

Rep. Andy Kim and two Democratic House candidates filed a lawsuit in February seeking to eliminate the county line system in the June primary. Quraishi on Friday granted the preliminary injunction requiring county clerks — who Kim sued — to design primary ballots using an office block ballot, where candidates are grouped together by the office they are seeking rather than by who they want to bracket with. All other states use that design.

But the Morris County Republican Committee on Friday evening told the judge that the organization interpreted the ruling as only applying to the Democrats, since the complaint filed by Kim defined the “primary election” as the Democratic primary election. In a Saturday order, Quraishi agreed.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/30/nj-ballot-design-gop-primary-00149842