Bill Text: NJ A1562 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits candidate for elective public office to be nominated by more than one political party or organization.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A1562 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A1562-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Permits candidate for elective public office to be nominated by more than one political party or organization.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning candidates for elective public office, amending various parts of the statutory law, supplementing chapter 14 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes and repealing R.S.19:14-9..
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. A candidate may be nominated for election to the same elective public office by more than one political party during a primary election or by direct nomination by petition in accordance with the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, provided that the candidate has approved in writing the use of the candidate's name for the primary election ballot or the circulation of petitions. Determination of the position on the ballot for such a candidate shall be in accordance the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Following the closure of the polls on the day of an election, the votes cast for such a candidate shall be tallied separately as in the normal course of tallying election results, and then the total votes tallied shall be combines. The combined total of votes shall be the final tally of the votes received by the candidate and certified as the result of the election for that candidate.
2. R.S.19:13-4 is amended to read as follows:
19:13-4. Such petition shall set forth the names, places of residence and post-office addresses of the candidates for the offices to be filled, the title of the office for which each candidate is named, that the petitioners are legally qualified to vote for such candidates and pledge themselves to support and vote for the persons named in such petition and that they have not signed any other petition of nomination for the primary or for the general election for such office.
In the case of a petition or petitions nominating electors of president and vice president of the United States, the names of the candidates for president and vice president for whom such electors are to vote may be included in the petition or petitions, but the petition or petitions shall not include the names of any candidates for president or vice president who have been nominated at a convention of a political party, as defined by this title.
The petition shall also state in not more than three words the designation of the party or principles which the candidates therein named represent, but such designation shall not contain the designation name, derivative, or any part thereof as a noun or an adjective of any political party entitled to participate in the primary election.
The petition shall also include the request that the names of the candidates and their designations of party or principles be printed upon the ballots to be used at the ensuing general election.
[No such] Such a petition [shall] may undertake to nominate any candidate who has accepted the nomination for the primary for such position with the written approval of the candidate.
Each petition shall be arranged to contain double spacing between the signature lines of the petition, so that each signer thereof is afforded sufficient space to provide his or her printed name, address and signature.
Any form of a petition of nomination, other than petitions for federal office, which is provided to candidates by the Secretary of State, the county clerk, or the municipal clerk shall contain the following notice: "Notice: All candidates are required by law to comply with the provisions of the 'New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act.' For further information, please call (insert phone number of the Election Law Enforcement Commission)."
(cf: P.L.1994, c.77, s.5)
3. R.S.19:13-8 is amended to read as follows:
19:13-8. A candidate nominated for an office in a petition shall manifest his acceptance of such nomination by a written acceptance thereof, signed by his hand, upon or annexed to such petition, to which shall be annexed the oath of allegiance prescribed in section 41:1-1 of the Revised Statutes duly taken and subscribed by him before an officer authorized to take oaths in this State, or if the same person be named for the same office in more than one petition, annexed to one of such petitions. Such acceptance shall certify that the candidate is a resident of and a legal voter in the jurisdiction of the office for which the nomination is made. [No] A candidate so named [shall] may sign such acceptance even if he has signed an acceptance for the primary nomination or any other petition of nomination under this chapter for such office. In addition, no candidate named in a petition for the office of member of the House of Representatives shall sign an acceptance if the candidate has signed an acceptance for the primary nomination or any other petition of nomination for the office of member of the House of Representatives in another congressional district in the same calendar year.
Each candidate filing an acceptance of nomination for election to the office of Governor or the office of member of the Senate or General Assembly shall annex to such petitions a statement signed by the candidate that he or she:
a. has not been convicted of any offense graded by Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes as a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree, or any offense in any other jurisdiction which, if committed in this State, would constitute such a crime; or
b. has been so convicted, in which case, the candidate shall disclose on the statement the crime for which convicted, the date and place of the conviction and the penalties imposed for the conviction. Such a candidate may, as an alternative, submit with the statement a copy of an official document that provides such information. If the candidate has been convicted of more than one criminal offense, such information about each conviction shall be provided. Records expunged pursuant to chapter 52 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes shall not be subject to disclosure.
If the same person is nominated for the same office in more than one petition, the statement shall be annexed to one of such petitions.
(cf: P.L.2004, c.26, s.1)
4. R.S.19:14-2 is amended to read as follows:
19:14-2. There shall be a single or blanket form of ballot, upon which shall be printed the names of all the candidates of every party or group of petitioners having candidates to be voted for at such election. The name of a candidate nominated at the primary who shall fail to accept his nomination, or file the oath of allegiance executed, in the manner herein provided shall not be printed on the ballot. The name of a candidate whose nomination has been vacated as hereinbefore provided shall not be printed on the ballot. The name of a candidate [shall] may appear [but] more than once upon the ballot for the same office.
Except as to the requirements of section 19:14-15 of this Title as to State-wide propositions, any public question which is to be submitted to the people of the State, county or municipality at the general election, shall be printed in a separate space at the foot of the ballot with appropriate instructions to the voter.
(cf: P.L.1949, c.24, s. 6)
5. R.S.19:23-5 is amended to read as follows:
19:23-5. Candidates to be voted for at the primary election for the general election shall be nominated [exclusively] by the members of the same political party by petition in the manner herein provided.
(cf: R.S.19:23-5)
6. R.S.19:23-15 is amended to read as follows:
19:23-15. Accompanying the petition and attached thereto each person indorsed therein shall file a certificate, stating that he is qualified for the office mentioned in the petition; that he consents to stand as a candidate for nomination at the ensuing primary election, and that if nominated, he agrees to accept the nomination. Such acceptance shall certify that the candidate is a resident of and a legal voter in the jurisdiction of the office for which the nomination is to be made and there shall be annexed thereto the oath of allegiance prescribed in section 41:1-1 of the Revised Statutes duly taken and subscribed by the person so nominated before an officer authorized to take oaths in this State.
[No] A candidate who has accepted the nomination by a direct petition of nomination for the general election [shall] may sign an acceptance to a petition of nomination for such office for the primary election. In addition, no candidate named in a petition for the office of member of the House of Representatives shall sign an acceptance if the candidate has signed an acceptance for the primary nomination or any other petition of nomination for the office of member of the House of Representatives in another congressional district in the same calendar year.
Each person indorsed as a candidate for nomination for election to the office of Governor or the office of member of the Senate or General Assembly shall annex to such petitions a statement signed by the candidate that he or she:
a. has not been convicted of any offense graded by Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes as a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree, or any offense in any other jurisdiction which, if committed in this State, would constitute such a crime; or
b. has been so convicted, in which case, the candidate shall disclose on the statement the crime for which convicted, the date and place of the conviction and the penalties imposed for the conviction. Such a candidate may, as an alternative, submit with the statement a copy of an official document that provides such information. If the candidate has been convicted of more than one criminal offense, such information about each conviction shall be provided. Records expunged pursuant to chapter 52 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes shall not be subject to disclosure.
If the same person is nominated for the same office in more than one petition, the statement shall be annexed to one of such petitions.
(cf: P.L.2004, c.26, s.4)
7. R.S.19:14-9 is repealed.
8. This act shall take effect on January 1st following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is provide that a candidate may be nominated for election to a public office by more than one political party and by direct nomination by petition, at the same election, provided that the candidate give written consent to those nominations. Even when such a candidate is be on the ballot, the ballot will be arranged in the manner as is currently provided by law.
Following the election, the votes for such a candidate will be tallied and combined and certified as the final result for that candidate in that election.
The bill also repeals R.S.19:14-9, which provides for a combined ballot position of candidates indorsed by one or more political parties or one or more group of petitioners, a section for limited, rare purpose under current law.
The bill permits what is known commonly as "fusion voting," which is allowed currently in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi, Oregon, South Carolina, and Vermont.
