“Hey Andy, where have you been?”
Strip away the legal language and that’s the core of a response filed Wednesday to a federal suit by Andy Kim contending that the traditional way of drawing up ballots in New Jersey is unfair.

Kim, who is battling First Lady Tammy Murphy for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, contends that New Jersey ballots are generally designed to help candidates endorsed by county political leaders by putting them in favorable positions. In the case at hand, that would be First Lady Murphy.

While this battle is about the Senate primary, the suit can have far-reaching ramifications, given the fact most county clerks devise ballots the traditional way, regardless of party affiliation.

In a response to the suit filed Wednesday, John Carbone, a veteran election-related attorney from Passaic County, says Kim is late to the party.

Carbone, who represents six of the 21 clerks named in the suit, writes:

“Plaintiff Kim has dilled and dallied in this filing, having known of this issue in September of 2023, engaged the experts in December of 2023, and only seeks judicial intervention in February 2024. Kim’s inaction… should bar any interim relief. Yet now after those efforts and the entry of other candidates into the process, he seeks not to tinker and tweak the process but tear and tumble down the process he participated in and sought the benefits for his candidacy. This hearing mandates the application of the principle of “Petitio Principii” or in colloquial terms, “Where has he been?'”

The filing also relies on what can be an uncomfortable truth for Kim. While he is challenging the power of local county political organizations to award favorable ballot positions, he is also seeking to get such ballot positions himself.

Kim, in fact, has successfully garnered endorsements from five county Democratic organizations.

The response also says Kim gave the impression of playing by the rules, only to unleash a “secret scheme” well into the primary season. It says that a legal win for Kim could mess up the election process and confuse voters.

From the time Kim’s suit was filed about 10 days ago, defendants have claimed it’s too late to change how ballots are put together.

For the record, the primary is June 4.

Another filing in response to the suit on behalf of the Burlington County Clerk makes note of the “atypical amount of fanfare, attention, and pontification,” the case is receiving.

Nonetheless, the filing asserts that the arguments put forth by Kim and his lawyers are more suitable for a “campaign stump speech” than the courtroom.

Judge Zahid N. Quraishi will have his say at a hearing set for March 18.