US Rep. Andy Kim sues over what he calls New Jersey’s ‘cynically manipulated’ ballot system
TRENTON, NJ– New Jersey’s primary ballot design unconstitutionally favors candidates who have the support of political party leaders and should be scrapped, said U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is locked in a primary contest for U.S. Senate against the state’s first lady, Tammy Murphy, in a federal lawsuit. Monday.
The lawsuit seeks to upend New Jersey’s unique primary voting system, in which candidates backed by political party leaders appear grouped on the ballot, with challengers in separate columns, and takes aim at a system widely seen as a crucial advantage in primaries.
It comes as Kim and Murphy face off in a primary to succeed Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who faces federal corruption charges and has not yet announced his plans for re-election. Murphy, whose wife is Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, won the support of county party leaders in the state’s largest counties shortly after announcing her candidacy. She has said that she worked for those endorsements herself and did not seek her husband’s support.
Kim’s lawsuit against county clerks who design the ballots aims to implement the type of ballot measure that much of the rest of the country uses, where all candidates are listed next to the office they are seeking.
“When the choices of primary voters, who by law are the sole judges who determine a party’s candidate for the general election, are cynically manipulated by the defendants, the result is anathema to fair elections,” the statement said. court case.
The issue has increasingly become a flashpoint, especially among progressives, who have called for the abolition of the so-called county boundary system.
Murphy spokesperson Alexandra Altman criticized Kim, calling the lawsuit a “hypocritical stunt” aimed at advancing his career.
“Andy Kim has no problem with the county lines system, he has a problem with the idea of losing county lines – as he really wants to participate in the process if he wins,” Altman said in a text message.
A message seeking comment was left with the organization that represents county clerks.