Too late to change ballots NJ's political bosses use to sway elections? Judge pushes back.

Published Mar 19, 2024 at 7:15 a.m. ET

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Published Mar 19, 2024 at 7:15 a.m. ET

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A federal judge questioned the claim that New Jersey’s county clerks don’t have time to reprint ballots before this year’s June primary elections — as he considers a case that could rob the state’s political machines of a tool that researchers say can decide an election before a single voter goes to the ballot box.

But Judge Zahid N. Quraishi gave no timetable to rule on arguments he heard Monday from Rep. Andy Kim — who says the so-called “county line” ballot system used by 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties violates his right to compete in a fair election. Kim testified that he is treated as an “underdog” compared to First Lady Tammy Murphy in the race for U.S. Senate, even as he enjoys a sizable lead in polls. Kim is seeking an injunction to get the unusual ballot system changed before the election is held.

The “county line” has become the central issue in the Democratic primary for Senate. The little-understood quirk of New Jersey politics helps Democratic and Republican political organizations tip primary elections by awarding their endorsed candidates preferential placement on ballots — sometimes only on the say-so of those party organizations’ leaders. Research by academics from Princeton, Rutgers and Oxford says the line protects entrenched interests, giving endorsed candidates an advantage that outsiders rarely overcome.

If the court were to find the county line unconstitutional, it would undo a system that has given the political machines tremendous power to influence which candidates ultimately win elected office as well — especially in areas that favor one party heavily, so there’s little competition after primaries. The same system once helped insulate incumbent Sen. Robert Menendez from political fallout after a 2015 corruption indictment, and turned against him amid another one in 2023. New Jersey hasn’t sent a Republican to the Senate in a half-century.

That power structure is a huge advantage for Murphy — whose husband both heads New Jersey’s executive branch and effectively leads the state Democratic Party. In the first week after she declared her candidacy. Murphy was endorsed by the most powerful party leaders in the state.

Quraishi listened to witness testimony in the case in a hearing that lasted more than nine hours. There were more than 20 lawyers representing the county clerks and three representing Kim, and the judge repeatedly rushed lawyers on both sides.

Kim testified that when he first contemplated running for office for his first Congressional election in 2018, he quickly came to understand the power of the county line.

“Literally the first question I was asked by anyone was whether I could get the county line,” Kim said on the stand. “In my first campaign, I wasn't taken seriously until I could show I had the county line. … It had a significant impact as to whether I’d be seen as viable by Democratic institutions.”

The “line” places candidates endorsed by a county political organization into a single column or row — instead of putting all candidates for a given office in a list together, such as on the office-block ballots used in other states. Researchers say that gives candidates who share the line legitimacy before voters — particularly when a well-known political leader like President Joe Biden is in the first position.

Kim testified he believes his ability to win his Senate campaign has been hurt by the county line. Kim has won placement on the line in most areas of New Jersey where party delegates cast secret ballots at conventions. But in most of the counties with the highest numbers of registered Democrats, county chairs who back Murphy awarded the line themselves.

On Sunday, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin submitted a letter to the judge saying he would not oppose Kim’s request for an injunction, nor a related lawsuit seeking an end to the county line. Platkin’s five-page letter laid out his legal argument that the ballot system is unconstitutional. It earned a quick rebuke from Gov. Phil Murphy’s office — which says attorneys general typically defend state statutes, despite their own opinions.

But before the hearing even got underway, Quraishi quickly signaled that he was not giving the letter from New Jersey’s top law enforcement official much weight.

“It’s my call and not Mr. Platkin’s, and he’s well aware of that,” Quraishi said. “I have not decided whether I will consider that letter or the opinion of the AG.”

Kim’s lawsuit names as defendants the county clerks from the 19 counties where the county line system is used. They say there is not enough time before the June primary to change the style of ballot.

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon testified that changing to an office-block ballot would cause problems for her election operation.

“I don’t know whether that can fit on the ballots we have today,” Hanlon testified. “There’s a limit to the number of grids on this system. You’d have to factor in how many of these office-blocks you could fit on the ballot and what order.”

Hanlon said multi-page ballots would require a reprogramming of her scanners.

She also testified that state statute requires the ballots to allow candidates to choose to associate with other candidates on the ballot by having their names listed in slates.

“The statute requires columns and rows,” Hanlon said. “The bracketing statute provides that various candidates can opt to appear in the same column or row of the ballot.”

Lawyers for the defendants called to the witness stand the owner of a printing company who prints the ballots for 11 county clerks. The printer, Kevin Passante, said changing the ballot this close to the primary would cause chaos.

But the judge challenged Passante.

“If I order a change, you said it would be chaos. But what if one of the county clerks decides they want to do it differently. We prefer this kind of ballot in this county — do you tell them you can’t take their business?” Quraishi asked.

“No,” Passante answered.

Lawyers for Kim presented an election systems expert, Ryan Macias, who has 18 years experience in election systems, technology and administration. He testified that the software the county clerks use could easily spit out the office-block layout that Kim is requesting.

To make their case that the county line gives an unfair advantage, Kim’s attorney’s entered a report by Rutgers Professor Julia Sass Rubin, who has published several studies on the county line, into the court record. Her research has found that congressional candidates who ran on the county line won on average by 35 points across dozens of races.

The defense cross-examined Sass Rubin, asking her whether she could specify whether the races she analyzed could have been affected by name recognition of the candidate, or the amount of money spent on the race.

“Potentially,” Sass Rubin said. “But you’re seeing the same pattern being on the county line and having the same results across 45 races.”

The defense attorneys and clerks declined to comment on their way out of the courthouse. But Kim’s attorneys appeared to be in a much better mood.

“We think it went well under the circumstances,” Yael Bromberg, one of Kim’s attorneys, said. “We only had a day to present evidence … and there were only three of us and a bevy of barristers, probably 50 attorneys on the other side. “

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