For decades, 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties used an unusual method for designing their primary ballots: the county line.
The county line placed party-backed candidates in one row or column with other candidates placed somewhere else on the ballot in what is sometimes called “ballot Siberia.” In turn, complaints about voter suppression and manipulation piled on.
A 2020 lawsuit and a following 2024 separate lawsuit brought on by Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who is running for Senate, changed how the majority of counties organized their ballots. Kim argued that for generations, the “line” had given an unfair advantage to some candidates due to their physical placement on the ballot.
A 2020 report from Rutgers University Law Review confirmed Kim’s idea that candidates are advantaged by being on the line.
“Political candidates who fail to secure the endorsement of these party bosses and political machines have virtually no chance of winning an election,” the Rutgers report read.
There is nothing in New Jersey’s constitution or any law that requires the use of the line, but one state statute requires the candidates for county commissioner to be placed on the same line. Other candidates can then request to be placed on the line with those running for county commissioners. The county chairman or woman often will endorse candidates who are then placed on the line.
In April, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi issued a temporary order to suspend the use of the county line for the 2024 Democratic primary.
Still, it is simply a choice made each election cycle by county officials about how to structure their ballots, and any county at any time could not use the line, regardless of the court ruling.
To some candidates’ dismay, some counties fundamentally agreed with the use of the line. Hunterdon County Clerk Mary Melfi told the Washington Examiner there was a legitimate reason to group people together with other people running for different races on the ballot.
“If you follow the law, it’s fair,” Melfi said. “If you’re running for commissioner and I’m running for county clerk, I think the voter needs to identify that we have the same principles and the same ideas.”
“It’s my right to associate,” she said.
Redesigning the ballots
As a result of the court order, all 19 counties that used the county line had to redesign their primary ballots ahead of the June 4 Democratic primary. It was a short timeline, just two months out from the election.
“Do what you want to do, but just let me make sure that I can do and I can implement what you want,” Melfi said. “They threw that on us. It takes me a good 21 days to put a ballot together.”
Salem County and Sussex County do not use the county line. Dale Cross, the county clerk in Salem County, told the Washington Examiner that he did not know why exactly his county did not use the line, as he assumed the role only five years ago and the previous county clerk had held the role for years. He said, as a lifetime Salem County voter, things had always been this way, and he was truly not sure why they did not follow the same tradition as other counties.
Dale said other counties called him during their redesign process to take a look at Salem County’s ballots as sources of inspiration to redraw their own.
“It was very nice when everybody else had to go into scramble mode for the primary, and we just continued doing business as we are,” Cross said.
“It was nice for Salem County, we’re the smallest county in the state, but to have folks actually kind of reach up and ‘hey, would you guys mind sharing your ballots with us?,” Cross continued.
Because New Jersey voters were so used to the county-line ballots, there were reports of voter confusion across the state.
“This was totally different than what anybody’s ever seen here,” Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo told the Washington Examiner. “I had people come through the door screaming that I did this on purpose to screw up candidates. That’s why my ballot had a blurb on it that the redesign of the ballot was due to a court order.”
“There was a lot of confusion,” Giralo continued, noting it was mainly confusion among the senior population. “The public has enough to do in their own life, let alone to follow how this was happening.”
Giralo said he met with many voters in Atlantic County to explain the changes to them. He opted to implement a block-style ballot, which is a common ballot style around the U.S. but practically unheard of in most of the Garden State for primary elections.
“I won’t take a position whether it was good or bad, but if you’re going to do something like this, the voter needs to be educated,” Giralo said.
“The public is slow to hear and understand changes when it comes to an election,” he continued, adding, “No fault of their own. They have lives to live.”
The future of the line
Quraishi’s ruling only applied to the 2024 primary on the Democratic side. He did not make a ruling on future elections, but it is believed that this issue will be examined ahead of New Jersey’s 2025 gubernatorial election and the 2026 midterm election primaries.
Two of the 19 counties that were sued, Burlington and Middlesex, have since settled the lawsuit and said they will not use the county line in future primaries.
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Both Atlantic and Hunterdon counties told the Washington Examiner that if a future court order does not prevent it, they will revert back to using the county line in their primary ballot design.
“I will continue on with the county line unless I’m directed otherwise, because the county line, to me, is the law right now,” Melfi said, adding, “You know, there’s nothing like New Jersey politics.”