N.J. League of Women Voters launches petition calling for fair ballot design

The New Jersey League of Women Voters has started a new petition calling on the New Jersey Legislature to commit to adopting a fair and neutral ballot redesign.

A ballot design committee created by the New Jersey Assembly held its second hearing Tuesday at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. The bipartisan committee, tasked with recommending ballot design reforms after the controversial county line system was deemed unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court judge, has at least two more hearings scheduled. The next hearing will be held remotely on Monday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m.

Every speaker at the first two hearings condemned New Jersey’s county line ballot, which groups candidates endorsed by the party together. Speakers differed on specific reforms, with many calling for a simple, randomized office block ballot used in most other states. The committee’s first hearing was limited to experts and county election officials, while members of the public were allowed to speak at the second hearing.

The League of Women Voters is calling for the following reforms to ensure a fair ballot design:

• A commitment to implementing an office block layout for all elections.
• A commitment to simplicity and clarity in ballot design.
• A commitment to ballot neutrality, with candidate order selected at random using an electronic system, and with candidate groupings, bracketing and endorsements eliminated so voters can make independent choices and candidates are treated equally.
• A commitment to accessibility in ballot design for voters with disabilities and limited English proficiency.
• A commitment to transparency and public input, with more public hearings and ample notice for those hearings.

“Voters deserve a ballot that is designed with us in mind — not powerful, politically connected candidates,” the League’s leadership wrote on social media. “The ballot belongs to us.”

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, both candidates for governor, also voiced support for ballot reform.

Fulop said Judge Zahid Quraishi’s requirements for a fair ballot were clear and that a committee was unnecessary to carry out the judge’s ruling, noting that in the recent Democratic primary, county clerks had easily created an office block ballot in response to the ruling. Fulop spoke out against bracketing and anything that would denote preferred candidates on the ballot.

“If the goal was to codify the ruling of Judge Quraishi, then a committee wouldn’t really be necessary on that front,” Fulop said. “But if there’s an intent to circumvent, like some think there is, then clearly this is the process that one would pursue.”

The next Assembly ballot design committee meeting will be held remotely at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2. Residents can register to testify on the New Jersey Legislature’s website.