New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy’s departure from the U.S. Senate race could open up new arguments for the clerks defending New Jersey’s unusual county line primary ballot system in court.
One of the several attorneys looking to defend the county line system is telling the judge Murphy’s dropout “drastically changes” the court case, which could upend how politics and elections unfold in New Jersey. Rep. Andy Kim — now the race’s sole frontrunner — is suing to stop counties from using the ballot system, which groups candidates endorsed by political organizations in slates. Researchers say that makes endorsed candidates look more legitimate to voters.
Attorney Mark Natale’s letter to Judge Zahid Quraishi comes just a day after Murphy decided to suspend her campaign at a meeting with some of New Jersey’s most powerful Democratic party organization chairs as well as another attorney defending the ballot system.
Peg Schaffer, the Somerset County Democratic Committee chair, confirmed to Gothamist she and several other county party chairs met with Murphy and campaign advisers this weekend at the law office of Angelo Genova. The Newark attorney is representing 19 county clerks who say it’s too late to change their ballot designs before the June primary election and a change could confuse voters.
But Schaffer said Genova was in the meeting primarily to talk to the chairs about what’s involved in awarding the coveted county line ballot position to Kim, after previously committing to Murphy. Schaffer said she didn’t have any comment on the court case, telling Gothamist, “I have no idea. I’m not involved in that.”
Genova and the Murphy campaign did not return messages Monday seeking comment on what role Genova played in the discussions about the campaign, or whether the future of the court case was a factor in those talks.
In the federal court case, Kim argues the county line system is unconstitutional because it lets party political organizations…
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