In a political earthquake, the court strikes at New Jersey's controversial primary system

In a decision sure to upend New Jersey politics for years to come, a federal judge on Friday blocked the use of the state's controversial “line” system — the backbone of New Jersey's political machine — in June party primaries.

U.S. District Judge Zahid Qureshi ruled in favor of U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D), a Senate candidate, and two Democratic House candidates, who sued for an emergency injunction against the “line” system in late February on the grounds that it violated their amendment rights. The first is under freedom of association and the Constitution's prohibition on state laws interfering with the results of federal elections. New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, Kim's main rival, who was poised to win the state's most populous counties, withdrew from the race on Sunday, but Kim continued his lawsuit anyway.

“The integrity of the democratic process of primaries is at stake and the resolution Plaintiffs seek is extraordinary. Mandatory injunctive relief is reserved only for the most unusual cases,” Qureshi wrote in his 49-page decision. “The plaintiffs’ burden on this proposal is therefore particularly heavy.” . However, the Court finds, based on this record, that Plaintiffs have met their burdens and that this is the rare case in which mandatory relief is justified.

Under the line system, local Democratic and Republican parties in 19 of the state's 21 counties place candidates endorsed by their county parties in prominent places on the ballot, while moving unendorsed candidates to peripheral areas known as “Ballot in Siberia.” The system provided a huge advantage to candidates with relationships with district party chairs and other insiders, since ordinary primary voters often cast their ballots for line candidates by default. One study that plaintiffs presented to the court found that the line gives an average of 38 points to its recipients in primaries.

As a result, Qureshi concluded that the candidates excluded from the line “demonstrated a heavy burden on their First Amendment rights.”

For the upcoming primary election in June, Qureshi ordered county clerks in those 19 counties to group candidates on the ballot instead based on the position they seek — a system known as “office block balloting” — with the candidate placed in order in each . A block is randomly selected.

Qureshi did not explicitly comment on the constitutionality of the line in general, leaving open the possibility that the injunction against the line could be limited to the June primary. Some county clerks said they plan to appeal the decision to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

If the ruling stands, the immediate impact on New Jersey's Democratic Senate primary is also likely to be limited. Kim was already the hot favorite in the primary after Murphy dropped out of the race.

But the federal judge's decision dealt a major blow to the entire New Jersey machine. The Garden State is the only state in the nation where county party endorsements determine polling place.

Progressive candidates for Congress filed a lawsuit to challenge the “line” in July 2020. The Working Families Party of New Jersey, a statewide chapter of a major national progressive group, joined the lawsuit in January 2021, and has funded the effort as it moves across the United States. Courts.

“Today’s historic ruling striking down the line will strengthen democracy in New Jersey by putting voters back in charge of choosing the candidates who will represent them at nearly every level of government,” said Antoinette Miles, director of the Working Families Party of New Jersey. In the current situation.

But candidate Kim's request for an injunction significantly sped up the process.

“I want to give him a huge amount of credit for taking this incredibly brave stand,” said Rob Duffy, national communications director for the Working Families Party. “The machine went flat. They didn't have time to prepare, and we had some really good arguments.”

While the most ardent advocates against that line are typically on the left, many moderate voters in the state also objected to a system they associate with nepotism and cronyism in public contracts and hiring.

“Very few people control too much,” Jordan Glatt, the university’s chancellor and a self-described conservative Democrat from Springfield, New Jersey, said of the “line” system.

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