Andy Kim’s Fight For ‘Fair Ballot’ Unites NJ Progressives, Republicans

NEW JERSEY — It’s one of New Jersey’s worst-kept political dirty secrets: the “Party Line.” And according to U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, it’s time for this antiquated and unfair election tradition to go the way of the dodo.

Earlier this week, Kim – who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District – announced that he filed a federal lawsuit to prohibit the use of “county-line ballots” statewide, beginning with the 2024 primary election.

Kim is one of several candidates vying to replace embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez in this year’s Senate race. He is competing for the Democratic Party nomination.

The congressman filed the suit alongside Carolyn Rush, who is running for a House seat in New Jersey’s 2nd District, and Sarah Schoengood, who is running to succeed Kim in the 3rd District.

What is the party line, and why do advocates say it’s unfair? Here’s how it works, a Rutgers University professor recently explained:

“Primary ballots used by the majority of New Jersey voters are organized around a slate of candidates endorsed by either the Democratic or the Republican Party. These slates of candidates are known as the ‘county line’ or the ‘party line.’ Instead of organizing primary ballots around the office being sought and clearly indicating which candidates are running for each position, most counties in New Jersey organize the primary ballots around a slate of party-endorsed candidates. As a result, voters often have a hard time determining which candidates are running for each office, giving a huge advantage to those who land on the county line.”

Currently, 19 counties in New Jersey are using a party column ballot design for primary elections.

How big is the benefit? No state legislative incumbent on the line lost a primary election in New Jersey between 2009 and 2018, according to a recent analysis by the Communications Workers of America.

• See Related: NJ Primary Ballots Bamboozle Voters With 'The Line,' Experts Say
• See Related: NJ Needs To Change Its Weird, 'Biased' Primary Ballots: Advocates

Some pundits have claimed that the party line system is part of the reason why New Jersey has so many uncontested elections, and why it’s so hard to find information on some of the candidates.

“New Jersey voters don’t want to be told who to vote for,” Kim said.

“This unfair process needs to end now,” he added. “The people deserve a ballot like what every other state uses that is fair, democratic, and allows their voices to be the ones that determine who represents them.”

Kim noted that the lawsuit was filed after he previously called for the abolishment of the “county-line” prior to announcing his run for U.S. Senate, signed the Fair Ballot Alliance pledge, and wrote to county clerks and Democratic Party chairs on Feb. 8 to request a fair, office-block ballot.

Ironically, despite Kim’s protests against the party line system, he has already captured several county endorsements in his Senate bid.

With a candidate petition filing deadline set for March 25, the clock is ticking on the effort to derail the Party Line in time for the June 4 primary election. And according to four of the 19 county clerks who are named in Kim’s lawsuit, it may already be too late.

The clerks in Hunterdon, Gloucester, Cape May and Cumberland counties recently sent a joint letter to the federal judge presiding over the case, claiming that rolling out a ban this late in the election season would cause “cascading and rippling effects,” the New Jersey Globe reported.

• See Related: The Battle Continues Against New Jersey's Weird Primary Ballots

SENATE RACE IN NJ

Kim is among a crowded field of candidates competing to replace Sen. Bob Menendez in New Jersey this year.

Menendez – who is facing new bribery charges – has not announced if he will run for re-election.

Kim is competing for the Democratic Party nomination in the 2024 primary election. Other candidates currently seeking the Democratic nod include Tammy Murphy, Kevin Cupples, Patrick Merrill, Patricia Campos-Medina and Lawrence Hamm.

Candidates seeking the Republican nomination include Curtis Bashaw, Michael Estrada, Albert Harshaw, Justin Murphy, Christine Serrano-Glassner and Alex Zdan. Additional candidates include Christina Khalil (Green Party of NJ) and Nick Carducci (Independent).

Kim isn’t the only candidate in this year’s Senate race to make a demand for “fair ballot design” in New Jersey. Earlier this month, he joined Campos-Medina and Hamm to call for an end to the Party Line.

PROGRESSIVES AGAINST THE LINE

Several progressive advocacy groups in New Jersey have been backing Kim’s lawsuit against the party line, including some that have been fighting to kill it for years.

In 2021, a coalition of progressive organizations and candidates filed a separate lawsuit seeking to dismantle the party line system in New Jersey, arguing that it violates several constitutional rights, including freedom of association and equal protection.

“Sixty-five percent New Jersey voters agree: It’s time to reform New Jersey’s unfair ballot system, which cuts out voters and tips the scales for candidates chosen by party insiders who are awarded the coveted ‘county line,’” the New Jersey Working Families Party says.

The battle against the party line also filters down to the local level, according to SOMA Action’s Democracy Action Committee, which has been endorsing Kim’s senate campaign in Essex County:

“What's the most important primary race that no one has ever heard of? Every two years, voters elect two District Leaders from each voting district to represent us on the Essex County Democratic Committee. These are tiny races - often only 60-100 total votes are cast. But collectively District Leaders have power, if they choose use it, to reform our local elections in two critical ways: 1) They can apply significant pressure to replace the County Line ballot format with a fair Office Bloc ballot; and 2) They can change the way our county endorses candidates to make a more fair, open, and democratic process.”

Other advocates have argued that the party line system disempowers minority candidates, including Kim – the first Asian American elected to federal office from New Jersey.

“AAPI candidates and other candidates of color are too often looked over or told to wait their turn by the political elite,” he argued. “It’s happening to too many in New Jersey because of an undemocratic political system that needs to change.”

MONTCLAIR REPUBLICAN AGREES: ‘KILL THE LINE’

On Wednesday, the lawsuit from Kim, Rush and Schoengood picked up another endorsement from an unexpected source: the chair of the Montclair Republican County Committee.

Michael Byrne – a former state Senate candidate who describes himself as an “America First Republican” – said he is supporting the lawsuit to end the county line, pointing to his own efforts to fight for ballot equity.

In 2023, Byrne sued the Essex County Clerk’s Office in successful attempt to get the Republican Party on “Line A” of that year’s ballot – something that hadn’t happened in nearly two decades.

• See Related: GOP Will Get 'Line A' In Essex County For 2023 Election

“Nowhere have uni-party power-brokers done more to sabotage 'democracy' than in Essex County where Democrats and Republicans have colluded for decades to suppress minority votes,” Byrne charged.

“County clerks are given immense power to contrive the ballot in ways that empower and advantage themselves, their friends and their donors,” Byrne alleged. “They weaponize the ballot against anyone not controlled by party bosses.”

“Politicians are not our superiors and they routinely prove that they're not our betters,” Byrne added. “They deserve real competition to hold their seats. But the line protects them from real accountability – and that's why the line has to go.”

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