Bill Text: NJ S1565 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits drawing of candidate names for primary election ballot to occur on day before 53rd day prior to primary if date falls on legal holiday.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-05 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S1565 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S1565-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Permits drawing of candidate names for primary election ballot to occur on day before 53rd day prior to primary if date falls on legal holiday.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the date for conducting the drawing of candidate names for position on the primary election ballot and amending R.S.19:23-24.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.19:23-24 is amended to read as follows:
19:23-24. The position which
the candidates and bracketed groups of names of candidates for the primary for
the general election shall have upon the ballots used for the primary election
for the general election, in the case of candidates for nomination for members
of the United States Senate, Governor, members of the House of Representatives,
members of the State Senate, members of the General Assembly, choice for
President, delegates and alternates-at-large to the national conventions of
political parties, district delegates and alternates to conventions of
political parties, candidates for party positions, and county offices or party
positions which are to be voted for by the voters of the entire county or a portion
thereof greater than a single municipality, including a congressional district
which is wholly within a single municipality, shall be determined by the county
clerks in their respective counties; and, excepting in counties where
R.S.19:49-2 applies, the position on the ballot used for the primary election
for the general election in the case of candidates for nomination for office or
party position wherein the candidates for office or party position to be filled
are to be voted for by the voters of a municipality only, or a subdivision
thereof (excepting in the case of members of the House of Representatives)
shall be determined by the municipal clerk in such municipalities, in the
following manner: The county clerk, or his deputy, or the municipal clerk or
his deputy, as the case may be, shall at his office on the 53rd day prior to
the primary election for the general election at three o'clock in the afternoon
draw from the box, as hereinafter described, each card separately without
knowledge on his part as to which card he is drawing. If the 53rd day prior
to the primary election for the general election falls on a legal holiday, the
drawing may occur on the business day immediately before that day or, pursuant
to R.S.19:11-1, on the business day immediately following that day. Any
legal voter of the county or municipality, as the case may be, shall have the
privilege of witnessing such drawing. The person making the drawing shall make
public announcement at the drawing of each name, the order in which same is
drawn, and the office for which the drawing is made. When there is to be but
one person nominated for the office,
the names of the several candidates who have filed petitions for such office
shall be written upon cards (one name on a card) of the same size, substance
and thickness. The cards shall be deposited in a box with an aperture in the
cover of sufficient size to admit a man's hand. The box shall be well shaken
and turned over to thoroughly mix the cards, and the cards shall then be withdrawn
one at a time. The first name drawn shall have first place, the second name
drawn, second place, and so on; the order of the withdrawal of the cards from
the box determining the order of arrangement in which the names shall appear
upon the primary election ballot. Where there is more than one person to be
nominated to an office where petitions have designated that certain candidates
shall be bracketed, the position of such bracketed names on the ballot (each
bracket to be treated as a single name), together with individuals who have
filed petitions for nomination for such office, shall be determined as above
described. Where there is more than one person to be nominated for an office
and there are more candidates who have filed petitions than there are persons
to be nominated, the order of the printing of such names upon the primary
election ballots shall be determined as above described.
The county clerk in certifying to the municipal clerk the offices to be filled and the names of candidates to be printed upon the ballots used for the primary election for the general election, shall certify them in the order as drawn in accordance with the above described procedure, and the municipal clerk shall print the names upon the ballots as so certified and in addition shall print the names of such candidates as have filed petitions with him in the order as determined as a result of the drawing as above described. Candidates for the office of the county executive in counties that have adopted the county executive plan of the "Optional County Charter Law," P.L.1972, c.154 (C.40:41A-1 et seq.), shall precede the candidates for other county offices for which there are candidates on the ballot used for the primary election for the general election.
(cf: P.L.2011, c.134, s.24)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Current law requires the county clerk or the municipal clerk, as the case may be, to conduct a drawing of the candidates for election at the primary election to determine their position on the primary election ballot. This drawing must occur on the 53rd day before the primary election. This bill allows the drawing to be conducted one business day before that 53rd day deadline if that date falls on a legal holiday.
This change is intended to give county clerks and municipal clerks some flexibility in scheduling the date for the drawing. For example, in 2017 the drawing for ballot position for the primary election falls on April 14, which is also Good Friday. Under current law, R.S.19:11-1, when an election deadline falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline can be moved to the next business day. This bill continues to allow this rescheduling option. However, it is not always desirable to postpone a deadline due to the tight timeframe of the election calendar. Therefore, this bill would allow election officials to schedule the drawing one business day before the deadline, if possible, without delaying the performance of other election functions, such as ballot layout, printing, and mailing deadlines.