Posted on 06/01/2024 11:08:50 AM PDT by TBP
Voters in New Jersey will see newly designed ballots in the upcoming June 4 primary elections with different layouts depending on a voter's party affiliation.
The change comes after Democratic Rep. Andy Kim and others filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the state's so-called county line system of primary ballot design.
A judge ruled in Kim's favor, saying the county line system favors Democrat party-backed candidates. Republican candidates -- as their ballots were not part of this lawsuit -- will still use the county line system.
The county line system -- a one-of-a-kind ballot design unique to New Jersey -- groups candidates on ballots with party support in a single column.
Because of this, the court found that the names of those running without establishment backing could be more difficult for voters to find on a ballot.
Now, Democratic primary ballots will be organized by the office a candidate is seeking -- a layout that's done similarly in other states.
NBC10's Lauren Mayk spoke with John Schmidt, the deputy county clerk who redesigned the Democratic primary ballots for Camden County.
He said the changes caused some late nights at his office.
"It was very late nights," he said. "I was up until two o'clock in the morning, like three or four nights in a row trying to hash this out."
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcphiladelphia.com ...
They have pictures of the candidates, with little halos over the head of each Democrat candidate, and little horns on the head of each Republican candidate.
In how many languages?
They want it easier to detect Republican ballots so they can be destroyed by the Postal Service employees.
Do they come pre-filled?
Not necessarily, plenty of zombies here already terminally confused. Considering it’s NJ, it’s important to remember we don’t have elections - we have selections.
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