The New Jersey State Attorney General will not defend a lawsuit against a controversial ballot system known as the county line because he said he believes it is unconstitutional.
In a letter to the court, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said his office will not intervene in the case filed by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is running for the Senate against First Lady Tammy Murphy. The letter is an astonishing development in a fight by political reformers, good government groups and progressive activists who say they’re out to stop powerful party leaders from doling out preferential treatment on election ballots.
It is the role of the attorney general to defend state statutes, but Platkin said in his letter that his role does not preclude him from intervening in this case.
“Nothing in New Jersey law prevents the Attorney General from ‘interpret[ing] a statute as unconstitutional’ in exceptional cases,” Platkin wrote.
The county line has become a central issue in the Democratic primary to replace Sen. Bob Menendez, who is under federal indictment and has not said whether he will run for reelection. In the days after the governor’s wife announced her run, the most powerful Democratic Party bosses in the state endorsed her. Those bosses are either political allies of the governor, or have been appointed to prestigious or lucrative jobs, or have lobbying business with the state.
Kim filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction against the county line for this June’s primary, asking that county clerks be required to list all the Senate candidates together. Unlike every other state in the country, New Jersey groups candidates together who are endorsed by the county political organizations, placing candidates for different offices in one line. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday morning.
A spokesperson for Gov. Phil Murphy released a statement Sunday responding to Platkin’s letter.
“It is well-established that Attorneys General have a general obligation to…
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