Brennan and Bhalla Call on Governor Murphy to Conditionally Veto Ballot Redesign Bill

Today, Katie Brennan and Ravi Bhalla called on Governor Murphy to conditionally veto the ballot redesign bill (A5116/S4142).

The two are the only Assembly candidates running independently in the Democratic primary for the 32nd legislative district. Both Brennan and Bhalla testified against the bill in Trenton last month, criticizing the retention of bracketing, which encourages political game-playing and puts candidates who want to run on their own at a competitive disadvantage.

Brennan and Bhalla asserted that with President Trump working overtime to undermine our democratic institutions, it is more important than ever that the New Jersey Democratic Party set a strong positive example, not cling to as many of the vestiges of the old corrupt party line as they think can sneak by legal scrutiny.

“This legislation would create ballots that are fundamentally unfair to candidates who are running independently,” said Katie Brennan. “It is another attempt to rig the ballot, manipulate voters, and make it harder for challengers to run against those already in power. I call on Governor Murphy to conditionally veto this bill and help bring truly fair ballots to New Jersey.”

“At its core, this ballot redesign bill fails to achieve the real reforms New Jersey voters demand," said Ravi Bhalla. “A truly democratic ballot system should ensure that every candidate is treated fairly and equally. I call on Governor Murphy to conditionally veto this bill and move us closer to the democratic ballot system employed by every other state in the union.”

Joining with the Working Families Party and many other organizations around the state, Brennan and Bhalla called for the conditional veto to include the following elements: striking the joint petition bracketing and number-letter markers on the ballot, requiring uniform good practices around font and formatting, and reinstating the right of people to vote for their state committee party members.

The 32^nd legislative district is comprised of parts of Jersey City and all of Hoboken.