FAQ

Do New Jersey voters support reducing the power of county party officials to influence elections?

Yes! A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll in November 2022 showed 65% say that county parties should not have a role in placing endorsed candidates in preferential placement on the ballot.

But parties should be allowed to endorse!

Yes! And with a fair ballot they still will. But the impact of their endorsement should be to put a slogan next to a candidate’s name, not change the design of the ballot to give their preferred candidate an almost insurmountable advantage.

Aren’t candidates chosen for the Line because they’re better candidates?

Those chosen to be on the line are better connected. In many counties, endorsements for the line are made by the county chair without public vetting or debate – the ultimate “smoke filled backroom” deals. This discriminates against candidates who aren’t part of the predominantly white old boy’s network. The result? New candidates, who may be well qualified, are put at a disadvantage before the race even begins. The Line has kept women, particularly women of color, out of office so effectively that our congressional delegation is only 14% female – just behind Mississippi. As long as the Line remains in place, a few isolated candidates may break through, but there’s no reason to expect widespread change.

But the line isn’t a big deal, is it? Good candidates can still win.

Only under extraordinary circumstances. Since 1997, no N.J. Democratic candidate for Governor or U.S. Senator has won the primary vote in any county where they were placed off the line. The only exception was in 2018 when Sen. Menendez, having received the county line despite prior corruption indictments, lost four counties (he won anyway). Party bosses want to keep the county line because it does make a difference: it allows them to control New Jersey politics. If it weren’t a big deal, what’s the harm in using the same simpler, fairer, and less confusing ballot as the entire rest of the country?

What’s the impact of having a County Line on New Jersey’s ballots and not the 49 other states?

Corruption and unresponsiveness. Because the system concentrates power in the hands of only six men (the Democratic party chairs in Bergen, Camden, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union counties), politicians know they need to keep party bosses happy, not their constituents. New Jersey is the #1 state in the country in criminally convicted politicians, and 80% of N.J. residents think their politicians are at least “a little” corrupt. Ever wonder why it feels like so many elected officials are unresponsive and can’t be held accountable? The Line means your vote rubber stamps the choice of the party leaders rather than deciding the election.

Has this ballot change been utilized before in N.J.?

Yes! Two of our 21 counties adopted office bloc design and use it for all elections — Salem and Sussex counties. And there are several examples of county chairs permitting its use in certain primary elections, including in Mercer county in 2017, Essex county in 2022, and Gloucester county in 2022. 

Who can change this?

• The Candidates: The candidates have agency over ballot design through their bracketing requests. If all U.S. Senate candidates ask for a fair, office bloc ballot, we can have one this June.                     

• The County Party Chairs: County party chairs have allowed all candidates to appear on one line in select races before. They can do so again.