In Political Earthquake, Court Strikes Down Controversial New Jersey Primary System

In a decision sure to upend New Jersey politics for years to come, a federal judge on Friday forbade the use of the states controversial county-based line system the backbone of New Jerseys clubby political machine in party primaries in June.

U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi ruled in favor of U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D), a Senate candidate, and two Democratic House candidates, who had sued for an emergency injunction against the line system in late February on the grounds that it violated their First Amendment rights under the freedom of association and the Constitutions prohibition on state laws interfering with federal election outcomes. Kims chief opponent, New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, who was poised to get the line in the states most populous counties, withdrew from the race on Sunday, but Kim proceeded with his lawsuit anyway.

The integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake and the remedy Plaintiffs are seeking is extraordinary. Mandatory injunctive relief is reserved only for the most unusual cases, Qureishi wrote in his 49-page decision . Plaintiffs burden on this Motion is therefore particularly heavy. Nevertheless, the Court finds, based on this record, that Plaintiffs have met their burden and that this is the rare instance when mandatory relief is warranted.

Under the line system, the local Democratic and Republican parties in 19 of the states 21 counties put candidates endorsed by their respective county parties in prominent places on the ballot, while relegating non-endorsed candidates to peripheral areas known as ballot Siberia. The system provided a tremendous advantage to candidates with ties to county party chairs and other insiders, since ordinary primary voters often cast ballots for the line candidates by default. One study that the plaintiffs presented to the court found that, on average, the line conferred a 38-point advantage for its recipients in primary elections.

As a result, Qureishi concluded, candidates excluded from the line have shown a severe burden on their First Amendment rights.

For the upcoming June primaries, Qureishi ordered the county clerks of those 19 counties to instead group candidates on the ballot based on the office they are seeking a system known as the office block ballot with a candidates place in the order of each block to be determined at random.

Qureishi did not explicitly weigh in on the constitutionality of the line overall, leaving open the possibility that the injunction against the line will be limited to the primaries in June. And some county clerks have said they plan to appeal the decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Should the ruling hold, the immediate impact on New Jerseys Democratic Senate primary is likely to be limited as well. Kim was already the prohibitive favorite in the primary following Murphys departure from the race.

But the federal judges decision struck a major blow at the entire New Jersey machine. The Garden State is the only one in the country where county party endorsements determine ballot placement. 

Progressive congressional candidates sued to challenge the line in July 2020 . The New Jersey Working Families Party, the state-level branch of a major national progressive group, joined the suit in Jan. 2021 , and funded the effort as it moved through the courts. 

Todays historic ruling to abolish the line will strengthen New Jerseys democracy by putting voters back in charge of selecting the candidates that will represent them in nearly every level of government, Antoinette Miles, the state director for the New Jersey Working Families Party, said in a statement. 

But candidate Kims request for an injunction dramatically expedited the process.

I want to give him a ton of credit for taking this incredibly courageous stand, said Rob Duffey, the Working Families Partys national communications director. It caught the machine flat-footed. They didnt have time to prepare, and we had some really good arguments lined up.

While the most passionate advocates against the line are typically on the left, plenty of the states moderate voters have also taken issue with a system they associate with cronyism and featherbedding in public contracts and employment.

Too few people control too much, Jordan Glatt, a university administrator and self-described conservative Democrat from Springfield, New Jersey, said of the line system.