Nearly two-thirds of New Jerseyans say county political parties should not favor candidates in primaries, endorsing some and allowing them to receive preferential ballot treatment, according to a new Fairleigh Dickinson University poll.
This practice, known as the party line, is unique to New Jersey and is the subject of a pending federal lawsuit filed by six unsuccessful primary candidates and the New Jersey Working Families Alliance against a half-dozen county clerks. The suit contends the practice of bracketing party-endorsed candidates together on the ballot is unfair and seeks to have it declared unconstitutional.
The FDU poll, released Tuesday, found 65% of residents — 61% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans — oppose the system that both lets county parties endorse primary candidates and enables county clerks who design the ballots to bracket these candidates together, often in the first row or column of the ballot, while non-endorsed candidates appear alone and often in an end row or column. Just 19% of all those surveyed support the system, which studies have found provides a distinct advantage to those endorsed and featured on the line.
While a few counties have moved away from using the line over the past several years, a few others — most notably Republicans in Morris Counties — recently adopted it.
So, have New Jersey political parties been able to hold on to their influence more than parties anywhere else? And how will this impact Trump’s bid for president?
