Bill Text: NJ A2605 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits filling of vacancy among candidates nominated at primaries after 48th and before 14th day before general election, except due to death; prohibits filling subsequent vacancies before elections.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-21 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A2605 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A2605-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ALISON LITTELL MCHOSE
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits filling of vacancy among candidates nominated at primaries after 48th and before 14th day before general election, except due to death; prohibits filling subsequent vacancies before elections.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act prohibiting the filling of vacancies among certain candidates and supplementing chapter 13 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. In New Jersey Democratic Party v. Samson (2002), the Supreme Court of this State permitted the Democratic Party to ignore the provisions of N.J.S.A.19:13-20 and substitute Frank Lautenberg as the candidate for the office of United States Senator after Robert Torricelli withdrew in disgrace as his party's candidate for that office 35 days before the general election.
b. In condoning this substitution, the court chose to ignore its earlier holding in Kilmurray v. Gilfert (1952) where it concluded that a State committee of a political party had an absolute right to replace a candidate, but only up to and including the 34th day before a general election, which under current law is the 48th day before the election.
c. Instead, the Samson court acted without due deference to current statutory law and suspended the sections of N.J.S.A.19:13-20 that authorized a political party to substitute one candidate for another only if the change is made prior to the 48th day before the day of the general election.
d. The court held that such an interpretation was justified because current law "simply does not contain a legislative declaration that the filling of a vacancy within forty-eight days of the election is prohibited" and it stated that if the Legislature disagreed it should "amend the statute expressly to preclude or otherwise condition ballot substitutions after the forty-eighth day."
e. The court also held that the fact situation in the Torricelli case was so extraordinary that it was unlikely that such a substitution would occur again.
f. The purpose of this act is to affirm the basic validity of current law, end the senseless misinterpretation of N.J.S.A.19:13-20 by the court as expressed in Samson, and make clear the Legislature's intent regarding the filling of a vacancy occurring after the 48th day before a general election.
g. Such a clarification is imperative because, the court's beliefs notwithstanding, within a year after Samson there has been at least one other instance where one candidate was substituted for another within 30 days before a general election.
h. This act provides that if a vacancy occurs due to the death of a candidate after the 48th day but not later than the 14th day before a general election, it will be filled pursuant to N.J.S.A.19:13-20 and the political party of the selected candidate shall pay all of the costs incurred; if any vacancy occurs after the 14th day before an election, it shall not be filled before the election, the name of the candidate who created the vacancy will not be altered or removed from the ballot, and if the name of the candidate who created the vacancy receives the greatest number of votes the vacancy will be filled after the election as provided for in N.J.S.A.19:13-20.
2. a. (1) In the event of a vacancy among candidates for any public office who have been nominated at a primary election and are seeking election at a general election when the vacancy occurs after the 48th day but not later than the 14th day before the date of the election because of the death of the candidate, a replacement candidate shall be selected in the manner provided by R.S.19:13-20 to fill the vacancy.
(2) The political party of the selected candidate shall be responsible for reimbursing all effected counties and municipalities in a timely manner for all expenses associated with changing the name of the candidate on all ballots and other election materials associated with the general election on an expedited basis and for the express mailing of new absentee ballots to registered voters who already requested and received such ballots and the return by express mail of the changed voted ballots to the county boards of elections.
(3) Whenever the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection are operative:
(a) the county boards of election shall deem valid any absentee ballot received on the seventh day following the day of the general election, notwithstanding the provisions of section 23 of P.L.1953, c.211 (C.19:57-23); and
(b) the Board of State Canvassers shall meet on the 35th day after the day of the general election, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.19:21-1 and the Board or Boards of County Canvassers, as may be appropriate, shall meet on the second Monday after the day of the general election, not withstanding the provisions of R.S.19:19-1, if the Attorney General deems such a delay is necessary to provide the extra time for the canvassing of absentee ballots.
(4) If after the 48th day but not later than the 14th day before the date of the general election a vacancy occurs among candidates nominated at a primary election for any reason other than the death of a candidate, that vacancy shall be filled pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of this section.
b. In the event of any vacancy after the 14th day prior to the day of a general election among candidates for any public office who have been nominated at a primary election:
(1) the date and time of the election shall continue as provided for by this Title and the name of the candidate who created the vacancy that appears on all ballots and other election materials shall not be altered or removed;
(2) all votes cast for the candidate who created the vacancy shall be counted and canvassed as provided for by this Title; and
(3) if the name of the candidate who created the vacancy receives the greatest number of the votes in the general election, the vacancy in that position shall be filled pursuant to R.S.19:13-20 for such offices as are under the jurisdiction of that statute and the other relevant provisions of this Title for all other offices.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to clarify the Legislature's intention with respect to filling vacancies after the time prescribed by current law.
In New Jersey Democratic Party v. Samson, 175 N.J. 178 (2002) the New Jersey Supreme Court permitted the Democratic Party to ignore the provisions of N.J.S.A.19:13-20 and substitute Frank Lautenberg as the candidate for the office of United States Senator after Robert Torricelli withdrew in disgrace as his party's candidate for that office 30 days before the general election. In condoning this substitution, the court chose to ignore its earlier holding in Kilmurray v. Gilfert, 10 N.J. 435 (1952) when it concluded that a State committee of a political party had an absolute right to replace a candidate, but only up to the 48th day before the election. The court, acting without due deference to current statutory law, suspended the sections of N.J.S.A.19:13-20 that authorized a political party to substitute one candidate for another only if the change is made prior to the 48th day before the day of the general election. The court held that such an interpretation was justified because current law "simply does not contain a legislative declaration that the filling of a vacancy within forty-eight days of an election is prohibited" and it stated that if the Legislature disagreed it should "amend the statute expressly to preclude or otherwise condition ballot substitutions after the forty-eighth day." The court also held that the fact situation in the Torricelli case was so extraordinary that it was unlikely that such a substitution would occur again.
The purpose of this bill is to affirm the basic validity of current law, end the senseless misinterpretation of N.J.S.A.19:13-20 by the court as expressed in Samson, and make clear the Legislature's intent with regard to the filling of a vacancy occurring after the 48th day before a general election.
Specifically, the bill provides that if a vacancy occurs due to the death of a candidate after the 48th day but not later than the 14th day before a general election, it will be filled pursuant to R.S.19:13-20 and the political party of the selected candidate shall pay all of the costs incurred. But if in the event of any vacancy after the 14th day before an election, the vacancy will not be filled before the election, the name of the candidate who created the vacancy will not be altered or removed from the ballot, and if the name of the candidate who created the vacancy receives the greatest number of votes the vacancy will be filled after the election as provided for in N.J.S.A.19:13-20. If after the 48th day but not later than the 14th day before the date of the election a vacancy occurs for any reason other than death, that vacancy would be filled under the bill in the same manner as any vacancy occurring after the 14th day before a general election.
