Federal judge rejects Morristown councilwoman’s challenge to New Jersey primary system
August 19, 2014 by Kevin Coughlin
A federal judge has upheld New Jersey’s closed primary system, rejecting a legal challenge from Morristown Council President Rebecca Feldman and others who contended the taxpayer-funded primaries unfairly exclude nearly half the state’s voters, who are unaffiliated...
Community Activist Tia Williams talking to voters in Jersey City
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting
a ballot in a general election, which implies the ‘fundamental’ right
to vote, and nominating a candidate for general election, which does
not,” wrote Judge Chesler, granting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno’s motion to dismiss the case.
Harry Kresky, one of the lawyers representing Feldman and eight other plaintiffs, said they are weighing an appeal.
Harry Kresky, Councel for independentvoting.org
“We think the Court misunderstood our argument. The judge addressed
this as a case of Independents wanting to participate in party politics.
That’s not what this case is about. It’s about whether the state of New
Jersey can fund and administer a system that’s for the parties and not
for anyone else,” said Kresky, adding he was surprised that no oral
arguments were heard in the case.
Morristown NJ Council President Rebecca Feldman
Photo by Kevin Coughlin
“This is only the first round,” said Feldman, an Independent on the
town council, in a statement. “The other plaintiffs and I never thought
it would be easy to get beyond the hold the major parties have on our
election system.”
Go to independenvoting.org for more information about the national movement for a fair and open -- and nonpartisan -- primary election system.
A tip -- you can read more from Harry Kresky about our current constitutional crisis here.
...“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”...
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the
plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in
the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether
the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable
treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
- See more
at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the
plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in
the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether
the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable
treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
- See more
at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
Independent voters who challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s
primary election system by claiming they had a right to vote in
elections that nominate candidates for general runoffs received a blow
last week when a federal judge determined that the system will remain
intact.
Judge Stanley R. Chesler of U.S District Court in Newark wrote that
while the plaintiffs in the suit believe the fundamental right to vote
extends to primary elections conducted by political parties of which
they are not members, that is not the law established by the U.S.
Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a
ballot in a general election, which implicates the fundamental right to
vote and nominating a candidate for a general election, which does
not,” he wrote in his 12-page decision that dismissed the suit on
Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in March by seven registered voters – four
unaffiliated, including one from Bergen County, and three registered
with a party – and two non-profit organizations that represent
independent voters. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who serves as the acting
secretary of state, was named as the defendant because she administers
the state election system.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s primary
election system that allows political parties the right to use taxpayer
money to pay for the elections. By appropriating public money for
private purposes, it forces unaffiliated voters to pay for an election
process that denies them full participation, according to the lawsuit.
“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote
in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its
electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized
advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting
franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the
plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in
the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether
the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable
treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
Representatives of the governor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday evening.
- See more at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
Independent voters who challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s
primary election system by claiming they had a right to vote in
elections that nominate candidates for general runoffs received a blow
last week when a federal judge determined that the system will remain
intact.
Judge Stanley R. Chesler of U.S District Court in Newark wrote that
while the plaintiffs in the suit believe the fundamental right to vote
extends to primary elections conducted by political parties of which
they are not members, that is not the law established by the U.S.
Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a
ballot in a general election, which implicates the fundamental right to
vote and nominating a candidate for a general election, which does
not,” he wrote in his 12-page decision that dismissed the suit on
Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in March by seven registered voters – four
unaffiliated, including one from Bergen County, and three registered
with a party – and two non-profit organizations that represent
independent voters. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who serves as the acting
secretary of state, was named as the defendant because she administers
the state election system.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s primary
election system that allows political parties the right to use taxpayer
money to pay for the elections. By appropriating public money for
private purposes, it forces unaffiliated voters to pay for an election
process that denies them full participation, according to the lawsuit.
“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote
in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its
electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized
advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting
franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the
plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in
the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether
the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable
treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
Representatives of the governor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday evening.
- See more at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
Lots of breaking news in the independent movement lately! If you have not seen this piece by RT America, check it out now: RT America invited #EndPartisanship’s legal counsel, Chad Peace, on their ‘Breaking the Set‘
segment to discuss the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that
have been used to conduct closed partisan primary elections.
Host Abby Martin [Move over, Rachel Maddow, WAY over!] discussed the record low turnout rate in states like
New Jersey and New York where less than 5% of eligible voters
ultimately decide who can be their state’s next Governor or even
Senator.
Stay tuned -- more to come from America's growing independent movement!
Imagine my delight on Saturday morning, when reading the editorial page of the New York Times,
I came across a letter by a dear friend and independent activist, Dr.
Phyllis Goldberg. She was the lead letter to the editor under the
heading“Christie’s Efforts at Damage Control.”
Here is what Phyllis had to say:
To the Editor:
Re “ ‘Very Sad’ Christie Extends Apology in Bridge Scandal” (front page, Jan. 10):
As an independent, I look at the politically engineered traffic jam
in Fort Lee, N.J., as a product of the partisan political culture. The
email exchanges between a member of Gov. Chris Christie’s staff and his
Port Authority appointee speak volumes about the norms and values of
this culture, in which political operatives’ overriding obligation is to
their own side’s interests....
INDEPENDENT VOTERS No political party? N.J. calls you unaffiliated (By LYNDSAY CAYETANA BOUCHAL, NJ HERALD) McCabe said New Jersey in 2005 passed legislation stating that as of Jan. 1, 2006, the category of independent voters would be eliminated. Any voter who chose not to affiliate with a political party or group was thereby classified as an unaffiliated voter.
NEW JERSEY INDEPENDENTS Meet the man who should be governor of NJ, if we had any sense (Jeff Edelstein column, The Trentonian) Some of you may remember Kostas; he ran for governor in 2009. (For those keeping score at home, he lost.) But he did manage to get some 2,500 votes, which ain’t so terrible for an Independent candidate who had no chance of winning. Clearly, his message got through to a few of us. He called his party the “For the People,” and what he believed then rings so true today, it made me forget all about the 12-foot sunflower looming overhead.
Independent Voters Everywhere, Really (By SARAH LYONS, SW News Herald - Chicago) Pew Research Center released a survey recently which was encouragingly called “Beyond Red vs. Blue.” Encouraging, that is, for the growing number of Americans eager to find a way out of the partisanship which has come to dominate public policy making at nearly every level of government.
Tuesday Elections Primarily a Formality for Local Madison Candidates (By Stuart Chirls, Madison Borough NJ Patch) Incumbent council member Sam Cerciello will vie for a second term as an Independent in the November general elections, after ending his earlier announced bid for mayor, also as an Independent. Voters can only vote in the party's primary in which they are registered. A flood of write-in votes notwithstanding, the primary is uncontested based on the candidates on the ballots.
Not much drama in upcoming NJ primaries - Most districts have same incumbents (Written by Michael Symons, My Central Jersey | Statehouse Bureau) Independent voters can register as a member of the Democratic or Republican parties at their polling place.
EDUCATION REFORM The Record: Can't cut it (THE RECORD North Jersey.com) IN GOVERNOR Christie's first State of the State address, he named education reform as one of New Jersey's most pressing priorities. And as part of that reform, he pledged to "end the myth that more money equals better achievement."
A round-up of the most recent stories over the past week or so reveals a heavy emphasis on the performance of independent voters in the Gov races in NJ and PA and a striking omission of the election of the first independent mayor of New York City on the Independence Party line. Clearly organized independents, such as the NYC IP, are a danger to the status quo, so much so that almost all the media, including the blogosphere, is ignoring them.
Sucking Sound - Tuesday’s groundswells were less about a GOP renaissance than the return of the Perotistas. (By John Heilemann, New York Magazine/Intelligencer) Yes, that’s right, the Perot voter is back with a vengeance... “If there’s a trend, it’s that independents are anti-incumbent; all sitting leadership officials are polling poorly with independents,” says Daily Kos’s Markos Moulitsas.
Both parties feel independents' wrath (By DAVE HELLING, The Kansas City Star) “Independents want more direct participation in the policymaking process,” Salit said. “They want leadership that makes decisions based on what’s good for a community, a city, a state, a country.”
Obama transformative? Or Clinton-Lite? (JOHN BRUMMETT, Pahrump Valley Times, Nye County NV) Today's independents tend to be results-oriented, impatient and disdainful. So the nation hangs on to a seesaw they control.
Obama's So Speedy, It Looks Like He's Hardly Moved. (Tim Fernholz, American Prospect/Tapped) David Brooks has a column on the independents in the wake of Tuesday's election, deploying his usual technique of communing with them via stereotypes -- "They’re looking for a safe pair of hands." NOTE: While I don't share the political perspective of this article or the American Prospect (far from it), I do appreciate Tim Fernholz calling David Brooks out on relating to independents as some Idealized Form (in DB's mind?) rather than as the real people they are...
Is David Brooks Punking Me? (Noam Scheiber, The New Republic) So yesterday I posted an item complaining about the line of argument that attributes Tuesday's election results to the fact that Democrats had strayed too far from the center, had done too much to quickly, were expanding government too far, etc., etc. I argued that it was much more plausible that voters--particularly the independent voters who decide elections--were just pissed off about the economy. To believe the former, you'd have to believe that these voters have well worked-out views about the proper size of government, and that they're supremely self-aware about where they stand on the ideological spectrum, and where politicians stand relative to them at any given moment, which strikes me as a bit implausible.
We cannot tolerate intolerance, but how do we avoid the trap of Liberalism? (GBH, Cannibal Planet - Where the Rich Eat the Poor) I've been standing out in Left field for a long time. Watching the game. The infield dominated by the Dems and Repubs. Watching them throw the ball back and forth. The Dems just are trying to keep the game alive while the Repubs just want to keep the ball. Me? Sitting here with the Outfield - Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, Noam Chomsky, and Lenora Fulani among others.
Independent Voters and Empty Explanations (by Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight.com) Independent voters are treated as a cause, when all that they really are is a symptom.
GOV RACES
Obama cedes the center (By Michael Gerson, Washington Post) Obama won just under half of Virginia independent voters last year. On Tuesday, McDonnell carried 66 percent.
Dems see lessons in defeat of Deeds (By: Jonathan Martin, Politico) Kaine was also an advocate for not watering down the message. “I don’t think there’s a problem with just [saying], ‘Hey, gosh I’m a Democrat, and I’m proud of it, and let me tell you why,’” he said. “I don’t think you need to back away from it at all.” But, seeing swing voters flee the Democratic Party, that’s not what Deeds did.
Tuesday’s results on top and down ballot: The closer you look, the worse it was for Democrats (Posted by Brad Smith, RedState) They even gained a couple seats on the New York City Council (in addition to the re-election of their sort-of Republican Mayor Bloomberg). NOTE: Mike Bloomberg is a registered nonpartisan (independent) and ran on the Independence Party line, where he got 26% of his vote.
This ‘change’ wasn’t what many expected (Douglas Turner, Buffalo News) Disillusioned independents voted overwhelmingly for Republicans Bob McDonnell in Virginia and Chris Christie in New Jersey, and nudged Bloomberg across the line for the third and last time.
Incumbents bear brunt of voter anger (By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany Times Union) In New York City, Bloomberg received the lowest five-borough vote total of any mayoral winner in a generation, with an estimated 25 percent voter turnout.
The New Power Generation-Bloomberg may have squeaked back in as king—but now he has two ambitious princes to contend with. (By Chris Smith, New York Magazine) Bloomberg will also face, for the first time in eight years, a sustained challenge from the other two citywide officeholders, De Blasio and John Liu, the comptroller-elect
Kasim Reed has been endorsed by Georgia Independent Voters and is now in a runoff against Mary Norwood
WORKING FAMILIES PARTY
Former top judge to lead Working Families Party probe-The labor-backed political organization hires former New York state Court of Appeals Judge Judith Kaye to review its operations after critics charged it skirted certain laws. (By Daniel Massey, Crains New York)
KINSTON NC
Anatomy of an upset-B.J. Murphy's victory Tuesday night still surprising observers (Bryan C. Hanks, ENC Today) Following the DOJ’s controversial decision to keep Kinston’s municipal elections partisan in August, Cousins easily defeated political newcomer Ronnie Isler in September’s Democratic primary and moved on to Tuesday’s election. NOTE: Murphy supported nonpartisan elections and spoke out during the campaign against the DoJ decision
Power to the party--ELECTION '09: Democrats and Republicans in Kinston, N.C., plan their next move against a federal veto of nonpartisan elections (Jamie Dean, World Magazine - Today's News Christian Views) In the small town of Kinston, N.C., B.J. Murphy did something extraordinary on Election Day: The 29-year-old sales director for a local real estate company became the first Republican elected
MEDIA
Failing the Midterms -- Press overplays election results (FAIR - Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) Republican candidates won gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday; meanwhile, Democratic candidates won two special elections for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York and California. But it was very clear which set of elections corporate media wanted to portray as sending an important message about national politics--that voters were discontented with the White House and wanted Democrats to move to the right.
Obama, the postmodernist (In the Illinois senator’s world, words have no fixed meaning, and truth is often just a matter of perspective. (By Jonah Goldberg, USA Today)
New Jersey Poll Released by Fairleigh Dickinson: Barack Obama 47%, John McCain 41% (Transworld News)
Hatch Act rules against politicking more lenient for feds, observers say (Gov Exec.com) Push to allow federal employees to run in nonpartisan elections in small cities
BOOK REVIEW American Roots -- Review of The Hemmingses of Monticello, An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (Washington Post) The story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings
CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT VOTERS MAY HAVE A HARD TIME VOTING:
Steve Weir, Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters, said there had been sporadic problems at polling places in the county, but election workers were moving quickly to resolve them. In some precincts, independent voters were showing up to polls and poll workers were telling them erroneously that they could not get a nonpartisan ballot, a Democrat Party ballot or American Independent party ballot. The county had workers in the field trying to fix the situation, and were calling the precincts to explain that they needed to give those voters ballots.... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Obama, McCain polling in the lead for independent voters in NEW JERSEY and CALIFORNIA..... (Cherry Creek News CO)
MASSACHUSETTS: Those independent voters, who can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary, could decide if Clinton or Obama wins the Democratic nod, and whether Romney fends off a late challenge from McCain in the GOP contest..... (Boston Herald)
ALABAMA: Voter turn out, especially among young voters and independents, could make a marked difference in the Super Tuesday results. (The Kaleidoscope, University of Alabama)
In California, Obama has widened his lead in the north and pulled ahead in the south. He leads among Democrats and Independents, liberals and moderates, men (by 21 points),among whites, and African Americans.....
In Missouri, Obama leads two to one in the St. Louis region, and has solid leads with independents, voters under 50, and African Americans. He also leads among Missouri women......
Obama and Clinton were dead-even in New Jersey, each with 43% each and with 10% of voters undecided. Clinton was ahead among Democratic voters, 45% to 42%, but Obama had more support from independents, with 48% of their support to Clinton’s 34%......
IDAHO: Ring worries about GOP split-closed Repub primary will alienate independents (Idaho Press)
It ain't Hillary-Chris Matthews cites only 25% indies are for her (Townhall)
Status of Pending Lawsuits Filed by Minor Parties, Independents (Ballot Access News)
Upper-income black donors back Obama over Clinton (USA Today)
Black community leader backs Clinton in Florida (Chicago Tribune)
OHIO: Judge's race field might shrink-if officials declare that Parker or other independent candidates aren’t truly “independent.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)
NEW JERSEY: Coffey heats up Township Committee race in U.F., Planning Board member files to run as independent (Freehold Examiner)
...Among independents, Giuliani gained a 47 to 37 margin over Clinton, while Republicans backed Giuliani 86 percent. He posted 19 percent among Democrats. In a Clinton-McCain match-up, independents supported the Arizona Republican 48 to 36 percent... (Newark Star Ledger)
