N.J. legislators announce new committee to redesign ballots
New Jersey Assembly leaders announced Friday that they have formed a committee to design a new ballot for elections in the state.
New Jersey has had a ballot design unlike any other state. It is commonly known as “the county line” ballot. Candidates endorsed by the county political party for all races at the local, county, state, and national levels are grouped together on the far left of the ballot as part of the county line in the primary election. Meanwhile, other candidates are listed off to the right in what some people call “ballot Siberia.” The ballot gives a distinct advantage to candidates endorsed by party leaders.
Other states use the office block ballot, where candidates in primary races are only grouped together by the elected office they are seeking.
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U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim won a lawsuit in the spring challenging New Jersey’ unique ballot design. On April 17, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision issued by U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi ordering a new ballot structure for the 2024 Democratic Primary election. For the June 2024 Democratic primary, county clerks created a new office block ballots with ease after a judge ruled that the county-line ballot was unconstitutional.
Legislative leaders issued a press release Friday announcing the bipartisan committee on ballot design and said there will be public hearings “to ensure fairness and transparency.”
Accotding to Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio, the committee will gather expert testimony on ballot design throughout the United States and review lessons learned by elections officials during the 2024 Democratic primary. Democratic and Republican leaders said the goal of the committee will be to gather testimony, hear from the public, and study legislative changes that could bring New Jersey’s ballots into compliance with the court order.
“We are committed to an open and bipartisan process that involves a review of ballots around the country and respects the decisions of the courts. We look forward to hearing from the public and the hardworking professionals who ensure we have fair elections and that ballots are counted accurately,” Coughlin said.
Officials said the committee will hold several public hearings on ballot design. The first hearing will include non-partisan participation from an expert on nationwide ballot design and a bipartisan group of county election officials who will discuss lessons learned from the 2024 Democratic Primary. They will discuss what considerations must be taken into account “to ensure a ballot is designed with New Jersey’s voting infrastructure in mind.”
The committee will hold multiple hearings in various parts of the state to solicit opinions from members of the public.
DiMaio said the Legislature is the right place to determine a new ballot design.
“Those with interest should testify before the committee instead of making comments on social media. The Speaker and I have made it clear from the start that we will lead an open and transparent process,” DiMaio said. “Strengthening the integrity of our elections deserves serious discussion, and we’re ready to give it the attention it deserves.”
The Democratic members of the committee are:
- Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, co-chair (Bergen, Passaic)
- Assemblyman Dan Hutchison (Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester)
- Assemblywoman Ellen Park (Bergen)
- Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (Essex, Hudson)
- Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (Hunterdon, Mercer)
- Assemblyman Gabriel Rodriguez (Hudson)
The Republican members of the Select Committee are:
- Assemblyman Al Barlas, co-chair (Bergen, Essex, Passaic)
- Assemblyman Michael Inganamort (Sussex, Morris, Warren)
- Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis (Morris, Somerset, Union)
- Assemblyman Antwan L. McClellan (Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland)
- Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf (Ocean)
- Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (Monmouth)
Wimberly, who is co-chairing the committee with Barlas, said the committee will ensure the integrity of elections and the democratic process. He said he will work with Republicans in a bi-partisan manner.
“I look forward to hearing from a wide range of advocates, experts, and concerned citizens as we gather information to make recommendations on our state’s ballot design,” Wimberly said.
Republican Assemblyman Brian Bergen was quick to criticize the formation of the committee, claiming it will just be a rubber stamp for what legislative leaders want.
“This committee is a farce. The legislation will be drafted the way the Speaker wants it to be no matter what is said,” Bergen said on X. “This process is just smoke and mirrors, like the budget committee hearings. If you want to have input, call the Speaker and skip the hearings.”
Democrat Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City and a 2025 candidate for governor, said any legislation should precisely reflect Quraishi’s decision, and that there should be no bracketing within an office block ballot design and no special candidate identifiers beyond a slogan.
Fulop said the ballot design committee is made up of the same people who have benefited from ballot design themselves, which undermines the committee’s credibility.
“Many of these same people are looking at primaries next year and so it is hard to imagine their interest isn’t compromised,” Fulop wrote on X.
“We are at a moment in New Jersey where public trust has been undermined again and again by Trenton whether it is OPRA. ELEC, or more. The formation of a committee like this sends the wrong message to the public and only reinforces that certain people in Trenton will do anything necessary to protect their financial interests,” Fulop wrote. “Judge Quraishi was clear in his ruling what a fair ballot should look like and a committee isn’t needed to codify his ruling.”
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Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade. Prior to becoming a journalist she worked for Centurion, a Princeton-based nonprofit that works to free the innocent from prison. A graduate of Smith College, she earned her master's of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and her master's certificate in entrepreneurial journalism from The Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY.