The Legislature passed a bill to move the 2025 June primary back one week to avoid conflicting with a Jewish holiday.
The bill, introduced last week, came after advocates expressed concern that Jewish residents would be hindered from participating in the primary because of Shavuot.
If the bill is signed by Gov. Phil Murphy — which is expected, as the governor has already expressed his support for the shift — would move the 2025 primary election date from June 3 to June 10 to accommodate a period of religious observance.
As it stands, the primary conflicts with Shavuot, a Jewish holiday on which those observing are not allowed to use electronic devices, write, drive or travel.
The bill would require the secretary of state to inform all county clerks, county boards of election, superintendents of elections, municipal clerks and the public of the rescheduled primary election day no later than seven days after the effective date of the legislation.
In a joint statement issued before the bill was introduced, Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Nick Scutari said the “right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and everyone deserves the freedom to have their voice heard at the ballot box.”
“We have an obligation to encourage participation and ensure everyone can participate in and trust our electoral system,” they said. “We cannot allow deeply held and legitimate religious beliefs to become a barrier to voting.”
Scutari said the primary is being moved by a week “for good reason” but that was confusing to do because several other deadlines had to be moved as well.
He’s not sure how this might impact school calendars for districts that are scheduled to be closed on June 3 because of the primary but “if there’s an issue I’m sure we’ll here about it.
NJ ballot designs set for overhaul
Ju Won Kim, 81, of Palisades Park, casts her vote using a provisional ballot at a polling location inside of a seniors activity center in Palisades Park on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
Two other election related bills were passed by the Assembly Thursday.
The first would overhaul the county line ballot design. A select committee met six times to discuss and listen to experts and advocates weigh in on how primary ballots will look in New Jersey moving forward.
The committee’s efforts followed a pledge from legislative leaders of both parties in March to consider redesigning New Jersey’s ballot after a federal lawsuit was brought by now-Sen. Andy Kim during his U.S. Senate run.
Though the committee co-chairs said the lawsuit wasn’t the sole reason for the meeting, Kim’s initial suit was filed in February in U.S. District Court in Trenton and challenged the so-called “county line,” the longstanding New Jersey ballot design that gave preferential placement to candidates backed by county political organizations.
The bill would require county clerks to design office-block ballots which group candidates by office and would not allow candidates running for different offices to be bracketed together. It would also eliminate the existence of so-called “ballot Siberia,” which isolated some candidates seeking the same office as others to the outer edges of the ballot.
The legislation does allow candidates running for the same office to be bracketed and have their names drawn as a group as opposed to individually. It also allows for election officials such as the secretary of state, town clerk or county clerk, to reject slogans that are similar to those used by other candidates and does not allow the use of the name of candidates running for other office in a slogan.
As far as a companion bill in the state Senate is concerned, Senate President Nick Scutari said Thursday they weren’t “going to rush it.”
He went on to say the Assembly had a “pretty good framework” and the state senate had input on it but he’s not sure an eventual bill in his chamber would be exactly the same.
“I don’t take any issue with any of it. It’s a very important piece of legislation, needs to be studied by our members,” he said. “There may be some things that haven’t been thought of, small things, technical things.”
In March, Scutari, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco and Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio issued a statement saying they were open to redesigning New Jersey ballots that give preferential position to candidates supported by county political machines.
They said they have “listened to the public debate” about the ballot design and there is a “longstanding precedent that the Legislature has the authority to determine the law regarding ballot design and the appropriate discretion used by county clerks.”
“We are committed to beginning a public process on ballot design in New Jersey, including a thorough and thoughtful review of other states, as well as a process that involves input from the public,” the statement said.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi ordered that the June Democratic primary use office-block-style ballots instead.
All 49 other states and two New Jersey counties already use the office block style. Salem and Sussex counties do not use the county line design.
That order was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia.
In his preliminary opinion, Quraishi said he “recognizes the magnitude” of the decision and that the “integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake.”
From Trenton: NJ Legislature passes stop-gap measure to allow public notices to publish online — for now
Signature thresholds for election petitions will increase
The Assembly also passed a bill increasing the number of signatures required for candidates to appear on the ballot in primary, general, nonpartisan municipal and school elections.
For general elections, the bill would require signatures of 5%, up from 2%, of the entire vote cast for members of the Assembly at the last Assembly election for their direct nominating petition. Candidates for statewide office would need 2,000 as opposed to 800 for their direct nominating petitions, and candidates running for any other office will be required to collect no more than 250 signatures on their direct nominating petitions, up from 100.
For primaries, candidates for statewide office would need 2,500 signatures, up from 1,000; candidates for congression will need 500 signatures, up from 200 and candidates for the state Senate and Assembly will need 250 signatures, up from 100.
The bill would require candidates for countywide office to collect at least 1% of the total vote cast by the voters of that political party at the last primary election held for the election of that party’s candidates for Assembly, or at least 300 signatures, whichever is less.
Municipal elections would have requirements based on population:
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at least 100 in municipalities or wards with populations greater than 50,000;
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at least 75 in municipalities or wards with populations greater than 25,000 and up to 50,000;
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at least 50 in municipalities or wards with populations greater than 10,000 and up to 25,000;
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at least 25 in municipalities or wards with populations greater than 5,000 and up to 10,000;
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at least 10 in municipalities or wards with populations greater than 2,500 and up to 5,000; and at least five in municipalities or wards with populations up to 2,500.
The specified number of signatures, or signatures of at least 5% of the total votes cast by the voters of that political party at the last Assembly election are also permitted for municipalities with populations of up to 10,000, whichever is less.
Those running in a primary in a single election district will need at least 10 signatures or 5% of the total votes cast by the voters of that political party at the last Assembly election, whichever is less.
Candidates for school elections would need 25 signatures, up from 10, and candidate for nonpartisan municipal office would follow the same population requirements as partisan races.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Legislature delays primary to June 10, moves on ballot redesign