“My concern would be not that they would be misleading by saying they’re endorsed and they’re not. My concerns there would be that it overtly puts the endorsement on the ballot, and the ballot should not be a way of communicating the endorsement,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor who has studied the line’s impact on election results.
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Julia Sass Rubin
NJ lawmakers vote to reform primary ballot
“Candidates could put, ‘Endorsed by Mercer County Democrats,’ says Bloustein School Professor Julia Sass Rubin. “There’s nothing in the bill I could find that prohibits that. And so it becomes a very visible cue on the ballot — which is the whole point of eliminating the county line.”
N.J. voters set a record this election. But not in a good way.
“As with the 2021 governor’s race, the expectation was that Democrats would win so there was not a pressing need for Democrats to turn out,” Rubin said.
New Jersey’s ballot is supposed to look different next year. How exactly, though, is a lingering question.
“The sad thing is that in New Jersey, for the most part, our politicians — especially at the legislative and county level — they don’t know what campaigning means,” said Julia Sass Rubin
What your 2025 primary ballot might look like
“Anything they’re doing, they’re doing to maintain some favoritism for them, some advantage on the ballot, which means it’s not a fair ballot,” said Rutgers Professor Julia Sass Rubin, whose research was cited in overturning the county line. “The point of the ballot is to have a fair way for voters to indicate their preference.”
Opinion by Rubin | Is New Jersey now a swing state?
“One of the biggest surprises of the election was how close the presidential race was in New Jersey. A state that President Joe Biden had won by 16 points four years ago gave Vice President Kamala Harris only a six-point margin of victory.”
What ballot design would make NJ elections fair?
“The [elected] position would be at the top; there would be the names of all the candidates beneath that,” said Rubin. “It would be clear visually for people to look at it and understand what the position is, how many people they should vote for.
Charter school salary revelations spur lawmakers to scrutinize
“More transparency, more oversight is necessary before we really know how widespread these abuses are. It’s not to say that district schools don’t have things like this happen. It’s just a lot easier to find them because there’s greater required transparency and greater oversight,” Rubin said.
How jittery are NJ lawmakers about ballot design?
“Do you want a horrible ballot, or do you just want a terrible ballot, I guess is what you’re asking me,” Rubin replied to Barlas. “I would say, let’s go for a fair ballot.”
NJ’s ballot design: What’s fair for all?
“Anything that’s not a clean ballot in terms of just a list of candidates in an office block style — nothing differentiating them — is not ideal,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers associate professor who has done extensive research on the ballot design’s impact.
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