The panel will hear from national election experts, clerks and others as lawmakers evaluate the future of New Jersey’s primary runoffs. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor)

New Jersey lawmakers will hold the first in a series of hearings Tuesday to design new primary ballots after a federal judge found earlier this year that the vote was long-standing. County Line Voting System Is Unconstitutional.

The first hearing of the 12-member Assembly Select Committee on ballot design will hear testimony from state election officials and national groups on voting practices in the state and how whose New Jersey election infrastructure must adapt to accommodate a new ballot design.

“These hearings are an opportunity to gather comprehensive feedback, not only from the public but also from the professionals who run our elections and protect their integrity,” said Rep. Al Barlas (R-Essex), co-chair. Republican on the committee. “Getting ballot design right is crucial, especially as we approach statewide elections over the next two years. »

The hearings follow a March order from U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi who directed county clerks to print ballots grouped by office, grouping candidates by office sought, for the June Democratic primaries, at placed ballots by county that grouped together candidates supported by party officials.

Quraishi’s order was a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by Rep. Andy Kim and two others who alleged that the county redistricting system gave certain candidates an improper and unconstitutional advantage by giving them higher placement on the ballot. Since Quraishi’s order, which was upheld by a federal appeals court, several counties named as defendants have settled the dispute and agreed to stop using county-level ballots.

Rep. Benjie Wimberly (D-Passaic), the committee’s Democratic co-chair, said the panel would later hear from other people statutorily involved in the voting process and from party leaders.

“And, of course, you want the voters’ input,” Wimberly said.

Tuesday’s meeting focuses on feedback from clerks and practices in other states. The committee, which was created by a resolution approved Monday by the Assembly, is expected to receive testimony from constituents at an upcoming hearing.

Lawmakers have so far given little indication of how primary ballots might change from the office building designs used in Democratic elections in June, although both co-chairs have indicated that the Slogans on ballots that can show support for a party are likely to stay even if they don’t. no longer serve as a basis for grouping candidates into single rows or columns.

“It may well be that we are blocking the vote and nothing more,” Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) told the New Jersey Monitor. “Maybe we do things outside of that. Perhaps there are things to be inferred from the testimony of the clerks or anyone else.

The co-chairs added that party organizations should retain their ability to defend their favored candidates off the ballot.

New Jersey case law protects the ability of political parties to provide support under free speech, although Quraishi’s order blocked voting patterns that inherently favored those candidates.

“What you don’t want, in my opinion, is to lose the ability of a political party to support the candidates that they believe are best suited to represent them,” said Barlas, the Essex County Republican chairman. . “Whoever wins, wins. It’s a completely different story, it depends on the voters.”

It is unclear whether the Senate will join the Lower House in holding hearings on the new voting models. Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) indicated Monday that he did not plan to convene a special committee on the issue.

Subscribe: Get morning headlines delivered to your inbox