Statement from Fair Ballot Alliance NJ in response to call for uniform ballots by NJ Democratic State Committee Chairman Leroy Jones, Jr.

Fair Ballot Alliance NJ, an alliance of 33 citizen action groups across the state of NJ, would like to make clear to Chairman Leroy Jones that the problem in NJ is not that we lack “ballot uniformity.” The problem is an undemocratic party line ballot design that disempowers citizens and prevents candidates from having a level playing field. Reform is needed now, not a year from now. We do not oppose party endorsements. Endorsements are given by political parties across our nation. No other state, however, allows county party leaders to use the ballot design itself to give endorsed candidates a 38-point advantage to win their primary election.

A uniform ballot design that prevents over-voting and stems confusion is certainly needed. But if an unfair ballot design is uniformly adopted, our problems will not be solved.

Let’s keep it simple. Every county in New Jersey should join Sussex and Salem county and the other 49 states in the U.S. and use a fair office block design, with randomization of order of candidate names, as soon as possible. Anything else amounts to a continued assault on our fundamental right to vote.

The Fair Ballot Alliance New Jersey is a statewide coalition of grassroots groups calling for a fair primary election for the US Senate election in 2024 and, ultimately, the adoption of a FAIR “office block” ballot design for all elections in New Jersey.
www.fairballotalliancenj.org

Footnote 1. https://www.njpp.org/publications/report/does-the-county-line-matter-an-analysis-of-new-jerseys-2020-primary-election-results/
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