February 28, 2025
NEWARK – The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and 78 other social justice advocates sent a letter today to Governor Murphy urging him to conditionally veto A5116/S4142, legislation that redesigns New Jersey’s primary ballots in a way that falls short of creating a fair and neutral ballot.
“After years of being beholden to the county line, the District Court and Third Circuit decisions in Kim v. Hanlon have finally given us the opportunity to create a fair primary ballot in New Jersey,” advocates said in the letter. “As New Jersey designs a new ballot, the question we should ask is how can we be the most voter friendly—not what can we get away with?
“Ignoring significant opposition and hours of testimony from advocates and members of the public, the Legislature has fast-tracked a bill that tries to get away with too much,” continues the letter. “This bill does not give voters that fair chance.”
This bill comes less than a year after the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction barring the use of the discriminatory county line in Democratic primaries last June, which required county clerks to print office block ballots.
“On behalf of New Jersey voters and New Jersey democracy, we urge [Gov. Murphy] to issue a conditional veto on A5116/S4142—striking the joint petition bracketing and number-letter markers on the ballot, requiring uniform good practices around font and formatting, and reinstating the right of people to vote for their state committee party members—and finally help us create a fair ballot in New Jersey,” concluded the letter.
A full copy of the letter, including a list of signatories, can be found here.