In the News
JANUARY 17, 2022
Local NJ Democrats Want Election Ballot Reform, But Party Bosses Are Skeptical
An ongoing effort to redesign election ballots in New Jersey as a way of establishing equal competition is facing opposition from powerful political influencers in the state, even in small towns where a number of progressive activists are calling for change.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
Op-Ed: ‘Party insiders have hijacked the ballot’ and we must fix N.J.’s ‘corrupt’ system
In an editorial, Progressive Democrats of Hudson County members Hector Oseguera and Elena Little explain how “party insiders have hijacked the ballot” in New Jersey and why the “corrupt” system must be fixed.
JUNE 3, 2021
More Than 60 Organizations Call for Better Ballots in New Jersey
With New Jersey’s primary election less than a week away, more than sixty organizations, together representing tens of thousands of voters, have signed onto the Good Government Coalition of New Jersey’s (GGCNJ) Better Ballots campaign.
AUGUST 14, 2020
NJ ballot design gives huge advantage to party-backed candidates, paper finds
When Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise ran for a fifth term in 2019, he had every advantage over his sole primary challenger, Patricia Waiters.
DeGise, a Democrat, had higher name recognition, tens of thousands more in campaign dollars and endorsements from every Hudson politician.
DECEMBER 4, 2020
Government Watchdog Group Launches Campaign to Abolish “The Line” on New Jersey Primary Ballots
New Jersey’s primary ballots are designed to confuse and deceive voters, distorting the electoral process and undermining real democracy in our state, according to the nonpartisan Good Government Coalition of New Jersey (GGCNJ).
JANUARY 25, 2021
Progressives File Suit to Eliminate the Party ‘line’ on Ballots
In a move they say is designed to return democratic power to the voters of New Jersey and away from politically connected party bosses, a coalition of progressive organizations and candidates has joined a landmark lawsuit to force reforms in New Jersey elections by limiting the influence county party leaders exert in drawing ballots that favor particular candidates.
JUNE 10, 2021
Biggest winner in NJ primary? The power of the party bosses
New Jersey’s primary election provides three main takeaways: The pro-Trump movement is firmly ensconced in the state Republican Party. Party endorsements and the party line on the ballot are virtually unbeatable. And the average New Jerseyan doesn’t vote in state-level primaries.
JUNE 27, 2021
NEW JERSEY'S PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOTS ARE RIGGED | OPINION
Now that the 2021 primary elections are complete, the stakes in the ongoing challenge to New Jersey’s practice of designing primary ballots to reflect the endorsement (or lack thereof) by county party leadership may seem to be reduced. In our view, however, primary elections have come to represent one of the last and best opportunities to afford New Jersey voters a meaningful choice of candidates.
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
DEMOCRACY IN NEW JERSEY IS TAINTED | OPINION
New Jersey is the only state that allows political parties to help determine how candidates appear on the ballot. The result is a system that diminishes the power of voters and ensures that politically connected candidates are elected over and over again.