In the wake of a federal judge’s ruling declaring New Jersey’s long-standing county-line ballot system unconstitutional, a new legislative committee has begun exploring the future of primary ballot design in the Garden State. The 12-member Assembly select committee on ballot design convened its first hearing on Tuesday, focusing on testimony from state election officials and national election experts.

This effort follows a March decision by U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi, who ordered New Jersey county clerks to use an office-block ballot format for June’s Democratic primaries. The office-block format groups candidates by the office they seek rather than clustering party-endorsed candidates together in a single column or row, as the county-line system did. The judge’s ruling, upheld by a federal appeals court, found the county-line system gave an unfair advantage to party-backed candidates.

A New Path for Ballot Reform

The committee’s work marks a significant shift in New Jersey’s approach to primary ballots. Assemblyman Al Barlas (R-Essex), the committee’s Republican co-chair, emphasized the importance of designing a fair and functional ballot.

“These hearings are an opportunity to gather comprehensive feedback, not only from the public but also from the professionals who conduct our elections and safeguard their integrity,” Barlas said. “Getting ballot design right is crucial, especially with statewide elections on the horizon.”

Tuesday’s hearing featured testimony from clerks and national experts about election practices across the United States. Future hearings will include input from voters, party leaders, and others involved in the balloting process.

Balancing Reform and Party Endorsements

While lawmakers are still determining how the new ballot design will look, the office-block format used in June’s Democratic primaries may serve as a template. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) noted that additional changes could emerge as the committee gathers feedback.

“It may well be that we do block balloting and nothing more,” Coughlin told the New Jersey Monitor. “Maybe we do things outside of that. Maybe there are things deduced from the testimony from the clerks or from whomever else.”

One area of consensus among committee leaders is maintaining political parties’ ability to endorse candidates. While Judge Quraishi’s ruling prohibits ballot designs that favor party-backed candidates, New Jersey case law protects political parties’ rights to make endorsements as a form of free speech.

“What you don’t want, in my opinion, is to lose the ability of a political party to endorse candidates that they believe are best suited to represent them,” Barlas said. “Whoever wins wins. That’s a whole different story — that’s up to the voters.”

Mixed Support Across the Legislature

The Assembly committee’s hearings reflect growing momentum for ballot reform, but the effort is not yet mirrored in the state Senate. Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) has indicated he does not plan to create a Senate committee to examine ballot design, leaving the Assembly to take the lead on the issue.

The committee’s work comes amid broader debates about New Jersey’s electoral processes, including the use of six-word slogans on ballots, which have sparked legal challenges over First Amendment implications. Reform advocates hope the hearings will lead to a more equitable system that prioritizes voter choice and transparency, while political leaders seek to preserve the role of party endorsements.

As lawmakers weigh their options, the hearings mark a pivotal moment for New Jersey’s election system, setting the stage for potential reforms that could reshape how voters engage with their primary ballots.