US News

New Jersey primary candidate sues to remove party lines on ballots

A Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives filed a federal lawsuit seeking to remove party lines on the ballots for New Jersey’s primary election, according to a report.

Christine Conforti sued Monday, a day before the 2020 primary vote, along with the New Jersey Progressive Legal Defense Fund, New Jersey Globe reported.

“New Jersey’s primary election ballots have become weaponized, and they’ve been used to give a ballot advantage to certain favored candidates over others,” said Brett Pugach, one of the attorneys involved in the lawsuit.

Pugach claims the layout of the primary ballots “are flawed, confusing and undemocratic,” fail to treat all candidates the same and are designed to benefit certain candidates – a violation of the US Constitution.

“New Jersey is the only state that organizes its ballot by columns of bracketed groupings of candidates, which just becomes very convoluted,” said Pugach told NJ 101.5. “You have situations where candidates that are running for the same office may be separated by numerous blank spaces.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, most New Jersey residents are expected to vote by mail-in ballots.