New Jersey Policy Perspective

When Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise ran for a fifth term in 2019, he had every advantage over his sole primary challenger, Patricia Waiters. DeGise, a Democrat, had higher name recognition, tens of thousands more in campaign dollars and endorsements from every...

New Jersey’s dominant primary ballot structure, known as the “county line,” provided a huge advantage to many party-backed candidates in last month’s primary and in some cases resulted in voter confusion and tossed-out votes, according to an analysis by a Rutgers...

Insider candidates and the politically connected benefited from the layout of New Jersey’s primary ballot in July, according to a new study released Thursday. New Jersey is the only state in the country that allows each county to design its ballot to give...

“The county line also increases voter confusion, contributing to overvotes and undervotes. The impact of the county line appeared to be greatest in races that did not involve an incumbent,” said Julia Sass Rubin, an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein...