The leaders of a special state Assembly committee considering a new ballot design for New Jersey say they are keeping an open mind, but after the first two hearings, it appears some members want any new ballot to include features that critics say could give some candidates an edge. This is not surprising when the committee members themselves will likely be running for election next year, making them among the first statewide candidates running on the new ballot.
But as the hearings have exhibited, the prospect of a different ballot design set off new debate among advocates who want the state to do away with any preferential treatment of candidates…
Horrible, terrible or fair
Assemblyman Al Barlas (R-40th), co-chair of the select committee, asked several speakers their thoughts on Connecticut’s ballot, which for the general election uses rows and columns and lists party-endorsed candidates first.
Julia Sass Rubin, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy who has written about the advantages the county-line ballot provides to party-endorsed candidates, called Connecticut’s ballot “very unfair” and argued for using an office-block ballot with only candidates’ names in a primary, and the addition of party labels in a general election.
“Do you want a horrible ballot, or do you just want a terrible ballot, I guess is what you’re asking me,” Rubin replied to Barlas. “I would say, let’s go for a fair ballot.”