Federal Judge Reviews New Jersey's Party Line Ballot System Amid Constitutional Complaint

[RandySF]

TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge expressed reservations on Monday regarding New Jersey’s distinctive primary ballot system, amid a legal challenge that argues it unfairly benefits candidates endorsed by party leaders. This skepticism came to light during a hearing in Trenton’s federal court, following the state attorney general’s declaration of the system as potentially unconstitutional.

The lawsuit, initiated by Democratic Representative Andy Kim and others, aims to dismantle the state’s “county line” system before it impacts the upcoming June 4 Democratic Senate primary, where Kim is set to face off against First Lady Tammy Murphy. New Jersey’s unique method groups candidates with similar party slogans, often placing those with party backing in advantageous positions.

Kim testified in court, underlining the heightened scrutiny the system has received following the indictment of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez on bribery charges, which led Kim to announce his candidacy. Tammy Murphy, participating in her first electoral contest and married to Governor Phil Murphy, entered the race subsequently.

The controversy over the “county line” system has grown, especially after Tammy Murphy received the endorsement of several county party leaders, sparking debate over the fairness of this electoral strategy. Calls for the system’s abolition have been echoed by various progressive groups within the state.




https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2024/03/24/federal-judge-reviews-new-jerseys-party-line-ballot-system-amid-constitutional-complaint/

[Wicked Blue]

1. Murphy suspended her campaign today nt

[cliffside]

2. Being a life long resident of NJ and in one of the counties that a favorably "line" were assigned ...

I thought that all the other states ballots looked like mine. What an opening event this has become. It was so easy to just vote the party line if one was unsure, I'm glad this election has brought this issue to light.

https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/tammy-murphy-will-drop-out-of-u-s-senate-race/

[cliffside]

3. I'm pissed, not in the British sense :) that the party line vote has been allowed for so long

in my state. I ASSumed all ballots in the other states looked like mine, it was not until this election that it was given some voice. NJ is the only state that has this "party line" vote.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/nyregion/new-jersey-election-ballot-line.html

"New Jersey election ballots have long been designed to benefit the favored candidates of local political leaders. But now, in the middle of a high-stakes Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, a move to declare the ballot design unconstitutional could upend the state’s entire electoral system.
In the current ballot design, the candidates officially endorsed by the leaders of the local Democratic and Republican parties are listed in a single column or row in a prominent position known as “the line.”

The names of challengers appear off to the side, sometimes at the ballot’s edge. Candidates call this “ballot Siberia.”

Studies have shown that candidates whose names appear on “the line” generally win. County political leaders use the system to encourage fealty. As a result, party leaders have outsize control over policy decisions, jobs and government contracts...

...Ms. Murphy’s path to victory is heavily dependent on the institutional support she has amassed from Democratic leaders in the state’s most populous, urban counties who are close to her husband, Gov. Philip Murphy. The livelihoods of many party officials backing Ms. Murphy are dependent on state government, making it difficult to know where their support for her ends and self-preservation begins.

Hours before the hearing, the state’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, who has long been a close political ally of the governor, weighed in. He declared “the line” unconstitutional in a letter to Judge Quraishi on Sunday, a major blow to Ms. Murphy."