A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld a decision blocking the county line system from being used on ballots in New Jersey’s Democratic primary election this year.
Rep. Andy Kim, who is running for the U.S. Senate, and two South Jersey Congressional candidates had sued to prevent the use of the county line, which groups candidates endorsed by political parties on a single row or line of the ballot. The system gives endorsed candidates a strong advantage parties have used to help sway elections for more than a century. A district court issued a preliminary injunction to stop the practice late last month.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the district court’s “findings of fact are substantiated, its conclusions of law are sound” and its decision to grant the injunction didn’t present any abuse of discretion.
While the decision is limited to the Democratic primary in June, the appeal could strengthen a larger case against the county line before the same U.S. District Court judge, Zahid Quraishi. To find in favor of a preliminary injunction, Quraishi was required to determine that the larger case has a substantial likelihood of succeeding.
Research shows the county line system, used in 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, confers an advantage by signaling to voters that those listed on the line are more legitimate. Kim asked for an office block ballot, which groups all candidates for a particular office together. Office block ballots are used in all 49 other states as well as the remaining two New Jersey counties.
Bill Tambussi, the lawyer for the Camden County Democratic Committee, had argued that voters would be confused without the county line. It was an argument the three appellate judges rejected, saying there was no evidence that is true. The Camden Democratic organization had also argued the county line enables candidates to demonstrate their affiliation with one another, and should be protected under the First Amendment right to association.
“I respect the decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” Tambussi said just moments after hearing about the decision. “The [Camden Democratic] committee believes the county line is an important constitutional right and over the years we’ve been able to put an enormously diverse slate of candidates on the ballot.”
But the judges accepted the argument made by Kim’s attorneys that candidates on the county line have an unfair advantage.
“Even apart from its placement, the county line itself carries weight, as it visually signals to voters the candidates whom the county’s political leadership favors and typically includes ‘incumbents, other highly-recognizable names, and party elites’” they wrote in their opinion, quoting Kim’s complaint.
The judges said the county line system discriminates against candidates placed on other parts of the ballot, which the opinion noted critics call “Ballot Siberia.”
“The Third Circuit’s precedential, unanimous, swift decision affirming the District Court’s preliminary injunction is monumental,” Yael Bromberg, one of Kim’s attorneys, said. “It ensures fair ballots in the applicable upcoming primary elections, and makes clear that New Jersey’s anti-democratic practice of the county line places an unconstitutional ‘governmental thumb on the scale’ and will not be tolerated by the courts.”
Kim filed the lawsuit after his chief rival in the senate race, First Lady Tammy Murphy, received endorsements from the leaders of the state’s largest Democratic Party county organizations. She was expected to appear on the line in counties that have the largest number of Democratic voters.
He sued the county clerks in the 19 counties that use the county line design. After he won the injunction in late March, all of the clerks removed themselves from the appeal, leaving only the Camden County Democratic Committee to continue fighting in court. The Middlesex County Democratic Organization filed an amicus brief and participated in the oral arguments before the appellate court last Friday.
Days before the lower court ruling, Murphy dropped out of the race. But Kim continued with the case, saying that he objected to the ballot design even if it wasn’t going to hurt his own chances at getting elected.
“This movement pushing for fair elections in NJ is powerful and is changing politics in NJ for the better,” he posted on X after the appellate court decision.
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