Earlier today, Governor Murphy signed into law A5116/S4142, which would modify the design of New Jersey’s primary ballots. The bill is a partial response to a federal judge’s 2024 decision that found most of the state’s previous primary ballots unconstitutional. However, the bill perpetuates harmful visual cues by recreating the previous bracketing system, grouping candidates together based on shared slogans. New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) had joined more than 75 groups in calling for the governor to conditionally veto the bill, but with the governor’s signature today, the bill has become law without modification.
In response, NJPP issues the following statement:
Nicole Rodriguez, President, NJPP:
“NJPP has long advocated for fair ballots, with research showing the damaging anti-democratic effects of the ‘county line’ and other visual cues on the physical ballot, which steer voters toward certain candidates and away from others. The end of the county line is undoubtedly a monumental achievement by democracy advocates from across the political spectrum. But by continuing these harmful practices, including grouping candidates together in all but name, this compromise represents a missed opportunity for the state to implement the clean office block ballot design, which is standard in almost all other states.”
Read NJPP’s research on the harmful effects of the Line.
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