“First and foremost, candidate order matters. There is a rich literature around what is known as the primacy effect that indicates being first on the ballot is helpful. To counter this effect, many states randomize the order of candidate names by voting district. This is easily done by computer and the process of ballot creation is quick, inexpensive, and fair.”
Topic
county line
The End of the Line: New Jersey ballots change for the better
We should recognize just how low the bar is right now, and how dysfunctional democracy in New Jersey—and in the United States more generally—is likely to remain for the foreseeable future. – Matt Mazewski
NJ residents want transparency in government. That much is clear
“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.”
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%.
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.