NJ Needs To Change Its Weird, ‘Biased’ Primary Ballots: Advocates

NEWARK, NJ — When it comes down to it, New Jersey’s primary election ballots are more than just weird; they're "biased." And a political oddity known as "the line" is likely to confuse many voters in the Garden State yet again in 2021, advocates say.

On Tuesday, the Newark-based New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Campaign Legal Center, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey and Salvation and Social Justice, filed an amicus curiae brief in Conforti v Hanlon, a 2020 court case that challenged New Jersey’s ballot design.

What’s the problem? According to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice:

“New Jersey is the only state in the country that organizes its primary election ballots by bracketing together a county-supported group of candidates in a column or row (the line), rather than listing each office and the candidates for that office in separate sections from one another. These bracketing rules in addition to other ballot design defects not only mislead and confuse New Jersey voters, but also disproportionately harm voters and candidates of color.”

“Fair and clear ballot design is vital to a healthy democracy,” advocates argued. “Using ‘the line’ not only grants bracketed candidates favorable positions on the ballot and systematically biases voters toward those candidates, it also negatively impacts voters because the manipulation of ballot position to capitalize on the bracketing bias undermines voter choice and the integrity of the democratic process.”

Because candidates on the line are most often incumbents or party powerhouses – who in New Jersey are overwhelmingly white despite the state’s 45 percent population of color – it’s also more difficult for candidates of color to win an election, advocates charged.

The New Jersey State Assembly is currently 70 percent white, and the state Senate is 75 percent white, advocates pointed out.

“During a time when democracy is under attack and we must do everything possible to strengthen and expand it, New Jersey is instead subverting it by maintaining an outmoded primary ballot design that misleads and confuses voters and interferes with their right to vote,” said Henal Patel, director of the democracy and justice program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

“These ballot design flaws disproportionately burden Black and other voters of color and make it more difficult for candidates of color to win office, undermining the goal of fair representation,” Patel added. “This is exactly the opposite of what our state should be doing during these pivotal times.”

“Fair voter access is about more than just drop boxes and early voting hours,” agreed Jesse Burns, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.

“We cannot accept the disproportionate effect that our ballot design has on voters and candidates of color,” Burns urged. “New Jersey must do away with this overly-complicated ballot layout in favor of one that displays all candidates equally and provides voters with a straightforward ticket.”

Defendants in the 2020 case include county clerks from Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer, Bergen, Atlantic and Hudson counties. After the defendants moved to dismiss the case, the plaintiffs – including several candidates in those counties – filed an opposition to that effort.

Tuesday’s amicus brief supports the plaintiffs’ opposition to having the case dismissed.

• See related article: NJ Primary Ballots Bamboozle Voters With 'The Line,' Experts Say
• See related article: NJ's Party-Line Insiders Protect Their Power Using Confusing Ballot Design

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