Thirty years ago, Nia Gill joined the Legislature after winning election as a Democratic assemblywoman in the Essex County-based 27th District on Sen. Dick Codey’s ticket. The pair ran together until 2001, when Gill’s home was moved into the 34th District and she ran...
Topic
primary election
A lawsuit challenging NJ’s uniquely abysmal, toady-rewarding ballot system moves forward
There is a federal lawsuit filed by Pugach and a group of former candidates and advocacy groups that challenge the primary ballot system as unconstitutional, which received a de-facto vote of confidence from a federal judge on May 31, when the court ruled a motion to...
Challengers win right to fight ‘party line’ ballots
In primary elections, some candidates are grouped in a horizontal or vertical line by their county party, such as the Camden County Democrat Committee or Democrats for Change. This is called a “county line” or “party line.” Nineteen out of the state’s 21 counties use...
Biggest winner in NJ primary? The power of the party bosses
“This is now year 12 that New Jersey has not had an incumbent on the line lose in the Legislature,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor who last year wrote a report on the party line ballot structure in most New Jersey counties and how it differs...
Tuesday’s primary election is rigged for the old guard
“This year only 10 percent of the seats in the Legislature are being contested,” says Julia Sass Rubin, an associate professor at Rutgers. “This is a toxic system, and it limits who will run.” And who will win. No state legislator has lost a primary since...
Voter suppression by another name
In a study published by New Jersey Policy Perspective, Rutgers Professor Julia Sass Rubin analyzed New Jersey’s 2020 primaries. She concluded that “structuring ballots around the county line impact election outcomes by steering voters toward specific candidates. The...
NJ ballot design gives huge advantage to party-backed candidates, paper finds
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...
Analysis finds ‘county line’ gave huge advantage to New Jersey congressional candidates
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...
Study: NJ’s Primary Ballot Favored Insider Candidates
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...
Organization lines offer significant advantage in primaries, study shows
“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...