Stuart Shapiro asks Julia Rubin, why New Jersey has long been considered one of the most politically corrupt states. She explains how a consistent pattern of high-profile cases have contributed to this perception, citing the influence of the state’s longtime political machines and the now-abolished “county line” primary ballot that heavily favored party-backed candidates as primary examples. She also walks us through how years of research, lawsuits, and the more recent Menendez scandal have culminated in a major reform that replaced the county line with fairer office-block ballots, leading to more competitive races, higher voter turnout, and a growing number of reform-minded legislators.
Topic
government accountability
New Jersey State Policy Lab: Catalyzing the Information Economy: Moving Towards Strategic Expansions of Open Data-Driven Value Creation
‘Open data’ refers to government data, and all data that is made publicly available with little to no restrictions for use, reuse, and distribution, to support transparency, innovation, and creative interactions, leading to insights-driven value creation.