TRENTON, NJ – A raging court battle over party line ballots in New Jersey is being waged in courts across the state and it’s not looking good for powerful political county bosses.
A Superior Court judge confirmed yesterday that Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz legally utilized office block ballots in the Republican primary, referencing a complex legal backdrop involving various judicial orders and appeals.
That allowance could give credence to case being heard this morning seeking to abolish the party line for the GOP statewide. Recently, a federal judge ruled that the Democrat Party line was to be abolished, raising arguments as to why the decision changed the law based only on one party and not the other.
Judge John E. Harrington pointed to a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi, which initially mandated office block ballots in the Democratic primary and later specified this was due to a lack of challenge from Republicans.
The injunction and a letter from Attorney General Matt Platkin, who could not defend the constitutionality of conventional organization lines, influenced Harrington’s decision. He remarked on the limited discretion left to county clerks under current statutes.
This ruling comes ahead of oral arguments in a related case in Mercer County, where U.S. Senate candidate Albert Harshaw and others aim to eliminate Republican organization lines statewide. This case, set for Friday, could reshape the Republican primary landscape, although Schwartz remains the sole county clerk to have removed a Republican line thus far.