News
A judge’s decision is sending shockwaves through N.J., where politics is ruled by backroom deals
It’s called the “county line” — and it’s been the stuff of backroom Jersey politics that allowed party bosses to play an outsized role for decades in determining the winners and losers on election day. Now, a federal judge may have changed all of that with a 49-page ruling Friday that sent shockwaves through the state and could forever curb the power of those bosses.
Federal ruling on ‘county line’ ballots draws praise
Julia Sass Rubin, a professor at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Public Policy whose analysis of the system proved damning, says the case is “just the beginning, assuming the decision holds, which I think it should and hope that it will. It’s really just the opening of the door.”
Here’s how Andy Kim’s bombshell court win will remake Jersey politics
“Democracy is about voters deciding,” says Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor and an expert witness in the federal suit that challenged the line. “We don’t need to be protected from democracy by four or five people who think they know better what’s good for us.”
Which NJ projects and priorities will receive $6.2B in American Rescue Plan funds?
“Does favoring one group over another when it comes to Democrats getting money and Republican districts not getting money? For Democrats that maybe an easy choice to make.”
Landmark NJ ballot redesign ruling asked to be put on hold
A lawyer representing county clerks in New Jersey has requested that a judge delay his landmark decision of scrapping the state’s county-line ballot design, a system that critics say has given tremendous weight to establishment candidates at the expense of outsiders.
Two Princeton Residents Help Bring Down New Jersey’s Party Bosses
In his March 29 opinion, Judge Quraishi said that he assigned Rubin’s testimony “substantial weight,” based on her “demeanor, manner in which she testified, and substance of her testimony which was corroborated by other evidence presented.”
NJ’s ballot line system is dead — the ‘magnitude’ will reverberate across politics
“It undermines the entire system of machine power,” Sass Rubin said. “It’s a different world. I just think you’ve taken away such a huge chunk of what they have to keep in power and really the only thing that makes us different.”
New Jersey’s Ballot Must Be Immediately Redesigned, Federal Judge Rules
One study by Julia Sass Rubin, an associate dean at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Policy at Rutgers, found that being on the county line gave congressional candidates an advantage of 38 percentage points.
New Jersey’s unique ballot design struck down by judge
“We are the last of the [political] machine states, and the machine relies on the county line to stay in control,” Rubin told The Washington Post last week. “If you displease the people who decide who gets the line,” you could lose your office, she said.
The Murphys want to protect their progressive NJ legacy — fueled by the line
“I think what [the line] produces is whatever the machine needs to produce to stay in power,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor and prominent critic of the line balloting. “In Murphy’s case, because he had the resources to run and he ran as a progressive, we got a progressive governor…”
Huge fight that could slam N.J.’s boss-driven politics rages in federal court
A long-simmering fight over New Jersey’s unique primary ballot design reached a federal courtroom Monday in a case that has the potential to upend not only the state’s tense U.S. Senate race but Garden State politics in general.
Judge scraps controversial ‘county line’ on primary election ballot
Rutgers University professor Julia Sass Rubin, who has analyzed the impact of the county line in elections, published a study last year that detailed the advantage it gives to candidates who have the line.
Follow Us
Upcoming Events
Undergraduate New Student Information Session for Fall 2024 Majors
Bloustein School, Civic Square Building 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesIn-Person Session August 27th The Bloustein School is hosting the annual undergraduate student orientation for new majors on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Newly enrolled direct-admit students in Planning and Public Policy, […]
International Student Resources Information Session and Panel
VirtualMeet your Bloustein Graduate student services/career team and the Bloustein Liaison to our international students. The second hour will be a panel of international alumni who will share their journey […]
Virtual Career Drop-ins
VirtualStop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]