Making it easier to beat NJ governor’s wife could cost taxpayers a lot, county reps say

🗳 Rep. Andy Kim is suing to get rid of ballot county line

🗳 Some county officials say the change would cost a lot

🗳 Kim has racked up county nods, against Tammy Murphy

U.S. Congressman Andy Kim has filed a federal lawsuit against 19 county clerks that use the county line system to align candidates on election ballots — which some Republican elected officials in Atlantic County said could wind up costing taxpayers.

Kim, a Democrat, is running against First Lady Tammy Murphy for the party nomination in the bid to replace U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.

A hearing on his lawsuit has been scheduled for March 18, one week before the filing deadline for the June 4 primary, with a decision by a federal judge expected by April 5.

A decision in his favor would require the reformatting of sample ballots, mail-in-ballots and return envelopes among other possible revisions at yet-to-be-determined costs to taxpayers, points out Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo.

The deadline for county clerks to mail sample ballots is May 22. Then, the early voting period is May 29 to June 2, ahead of primary election day on June 4.

“If Kim is successful in his lawsuit, it will leave insufficient time for county clerks to implement the necessary revisions to meet deadlines for the primary election processes,” according to Giralo.

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Giralo, a Republican, recently shared disappointment that U.S. Senate candidate Christine Serrano Glassner did not attend the Atlantic County Republican Convention, Insider NJ reported.

Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, also a Republican, voiced similar concerns, specifically questioning taxpayer costs.

“This is about much more than politics. My first priority is to my constituents. How much will this cost our taxpayers? How will this impact the integrity of the election process if election officials must rush to implement changes to meet unrealistic deadlines,” Levinson said.

Giralo said there is an average of 100 or more different types of ballots in Atlantic County during a primary election, in large part based on municipal level offices.

Atlantic County is required to print ballots in two languages, while other counties have to print in many more languages, such as Essex County, with ballots printed in up to 15 languages.

According to Atlantic County, there are essentially three commercial printers in NJ that handle all election ballot printing.

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New Jersey is the only state that organizes primary ballots by “lining up” candidates endorsed by the Democratic and Republican county committees in a column or row — rather than listing candidates by office, in separate sections.

Read more: Voting groups ask to join case against county lines in NJ primary

A similar federal lawsuit was filed in July 2020, brought by individual voters and candidates and the New Jersey Working Families group, who sought to get rid of the county line system.

In that suit — still pending as of March — defendants were eight county clerks in Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer, Bergen, Atlantic, and Hudson counties.

Meanwhile, Tammy Murphy has won the line in Passaic and Union counties.

Somerset County was holding its Democratic Convention on Thursday.

At the Burlington County Democratic convention on Feb. 24, state Sen. Troy Singleton called to get rid of the county line system, Politico reported.

Jersey City Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Steven Fulop has long said that the county line should be eliminated, telling NJ Globe in 2023 that the system for preferred position on primary ballots was “undemocratic.”

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