“I do think that there is an opening for real reforms,” Rubin said. “I’m not naïve. I don’t think it’s like a switch is going to go off.”
Topic
voting
Rubin Opinion: Making New Jersey a real democracy
Taken together, these five reforms would help vanquish the powerful grip that political machines have long had on our state.
New Jersey’s electoral process just got upended
Party leaders give preferential placement to their candidates. Those not on the county line are tucked away in obscure rows and columns. Julia Sass Rubin of Rutgers University
looked at 20 years of New Jersey races and found that the county line steered voters and helped preferred candidates by an average difference of 38%.
County clerks forge ahead with new ballot design
New Jersey Democratic primary voters will see ballots that look very different from what they are used to and also different from the ones Republican voters will see. County clerks are designing ballots for the June election to comply with the recent federal court...
Julia Rubin and Rutgers Experts Make History on Party Line
“One of the impacts of the county line has been discouraging those who do not receive the party’s endorsement from running. Candidates understand that running off the line is ineffective so they tend to drop out if they are not selected for the line.”
Could the end of the NJ county line doom county political machines? Some wonder
“I think people will start to speak up and you’ll see more people entering contests,” said Julia Sass Rubin. “You will see more pushback … We’ll see more bravery.”
Abolishing the “Ballot Line” Will Reshape Progressive Politics
The state’s powerful political machines, which have dominated Garden State politics and dictated its policies for much of the last century, lost their most potent tool — the “county line” primary ballot.
Hudson County primary steps up as ‘county-line’ ruling sets in
“I think the voters are smart and they are discerning and we have to expect more of them,” said Julia Sass Rubin, an associate professor with Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. “We have to provide them with information to make those decisions. That’s something New Jersey really hasn’t done.”
New Jersey politics will never be the same – Opinion Rubin
The state’s powerful political machines, which have dominated Garden State politics and dictated its policies for much of the last century, lost their most potent tool — the “county line” primary ballot.
New Jersey Ballot Ruling Applies Only to Democratic Race, Judge Says
“It’s just a hiccup,” Dr. Rubin said. “If this decision holds, it will completely upend New Jersey politics.”
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CAWP’s Annual Senator Wynona Lipman Chair in Women’s Political Leadership with U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler
Ludwig Global Village Living Learning Center 9 Suydam Street, New Brunswick, United StatesThe Power of Black Women's Leadership in Politics U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler Appointed to the United States Senate by California Governor Gavin Newsome, Senator Laphonza Butler has spent her career […]
Bloustein Honors Research Program Poster Session
Bloustein School, Civic Square Building 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesThe members of the 2023-24 Bloustein Honors Research Program cohort will be presenting their individual research projects in two formats.
Placemaking in Context: Honoring the Culture and History of Communities
Bloustein School, Civic Square Building 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesPlacemaking strengthens the connection between people and places. Join us as we examine placemaking through a lens of arts and humanities with transportation, highlighting the culture and histories of local […]