New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

Today marks 9 years of Ryan P. Haygood’s grace, generosity and genius leading the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Under his watch, we've strengthened and expanded New Jersey’s democracy, including restoring the vote to 83,000 people on probation and parole, a right denied since 1844; established online voter registration and early voting; ended prison-based gerrymandering; and lowered the voting age to 16 for Newark School Board elections. And that's just the beginning. We couldn't be more grateful for Ryan - and we know New Jersey feels the same way.

The end of New Jersey’s “county line” is near!

The decision is in!    The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit just affirmed what we all knew: There is no place for the county line on New Jersey’s primary ballots.    While this interim decision in Kim v. Hanlon applies to Democratic ballots in the upcoming June primary election, it is yet another big step in the inevitable collapse of the line altogether.     New Jersey’s county line is on life support.  

NEWARK – In an amicus curiae brief filed today, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Campaign Legal Center – on behalf of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Salvation and Social Justice, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, New Jersey Policy Perspective, AAPI New Jersey, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Asian American Advancing Justice | AAJC (collectively, “Amici”) – asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to affirm the district court’s ruling in the case of Kim v. Hanlon. The brief argues that that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it found “likelihood of success on the merits” for plaintiffs’ claim that the county line is unconstitutional and has a harmful effect on voters and candidates, and that ballots must be designed in office block style for the upcoming Democratic June primary election. Amici’s brief points out that the decision of all of New Jersey’s county clerks in the case to drop out of the appeal demonstrates their ability to switch to office block ballots in time for June’s primary election. However, the brief argues, if the Court of Appeals were to, at this late stage, grant the request of intervening parties to reverse that already-in-motion process, chaos would indeed ensue – an outcome defendants ostensibly wanted to avoid. “The district court was correct when it stopped use of the county line in June’s Democratic primary election, and every New Jersey county clerk was correct when they dropped out of the appeal, knowing that the end of the line for the line is inevitable,” said Henal Patel, Law & Policy Director at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “It is a shame that a couple of political players in the state are so determined to cling to power that they refuse to accept the inevitable and have intervened in the case, regardless of the cost to New Jersey’s voters, especially voters of color. We are confident the Court of Appeals will do right by the voters and affirm the district court’s ruling.”

Thank you for this special recognition, GARDEN STATE BAR ASSOCIATION!

Black New Jerseyans are statistically five times more likely to have police use force against them than white New Jerseyans. Sign up now and join us for a discussion on what reparations looks like in the context of public safety. bit.ly/NJRCSession5

In a huge victory for voters and democracy, a Court ruled today that New Jersey counties must ditch the line in the upcoming June primary election! The Institute filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case that finally brought down the line, pointing out how using the line on our ballots dilutes the voice of voters – especially Black and other voters of color. But make no mistake: This day would not have come without years’ worth of tireless advocacy from advocates – led by our friends at New Jersey Working Families Party – shining a light on the unconstitutional and discriminatory power of the line. We filed our brief with co-counsel Campaign Legal Center on behalf of the League of Women Voters of NJ, Salvation and Social Justice, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and New Jersey Policy Perspective, fierce advocates in this fight. Hats off, too, to attorneys Yael Bromberg, Flavio Komuves and Brett Pugach, who have been leading the battle against the line in the courts for years. We are confident that as the case moves ahead, the Court will banish the line from all ballots going forward – and we will be one important step closer to elected officials being accountable to us – the people – instead of power brokers and party bosses. The fight for democracy continues and is more necessary than ever. But for today, let’s savor this big win in our own backyards!

Please join the NJ Reparations Council on April 17 for our next public session hosted by the Public Safety and Justice Committee!: http://bit.ly/NJRCSession5

Salute to our mighty Board Chair, Paulette Brown! #WomensHerstoryMonth

NEWARK – The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (the Institute) and Campaign Legal Center (CLC) today – on behalf of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Salvation and Social Justice, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and New Jersey Policy Perspective (collectively, “Amici”) – filed an amicus curiae brief in Kim v. Hanlon, a case challenging New Jersey’s use of the unconstitutional and discriminatory “county line” on its ballots. In Kim v. Hanlon, U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim and U.S. House of Representatives candidates Sarah Schoengood and Carolyn Rush seek a preliminary injunction to halt use of the county line for the June primary elections in order to avoid imminent and irreparable harm – and ask that counties instead use the ballot design used by Salem and Sussex Counties and many other states. The parties largely make their claims based on the burdens the county line imposes on candidates and the electoral process. In their amicus brief, Amici make the case for how the county line disproportionately violates the rights of voters and candidates of color and women. Amici are all non-partisan organizations that do not endorse or oppose candidates. Their brief is submitted to protect the rights of voters and our democracy – not in favor of or against any candidate’s interest. “The county line is a sophisticated form of voter suppression and a frontal assault on democracy that diminishes voting power, particularly of voters of color, as well as candidates of color and women. It essentially decides the result of a race before ballots are even cast and makes candidates and elected officials accountable to party bosses instead of the people they represent,” said Henal Patel, Law & Policy Director at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “The county line also ensures that elected representatives do not reflect the diversity of New Jersey, which is almost half people of color.” New Jersey is the only state in the country that organizes its primary election ballots by bracketing together candidates endorsed by party leaders in a column or row, rather than listing each office and the candidates for that office in separate sections from one another. This antidemocratic design, due to a phenomenon known as “positional bias,” awards chosen candidates, on average, a 38 percent advantage at the polls – a usually insurmountable advantage bestowed by county party leaders. "Fair ballot design is a core part of a functional democracy," said Kevin Hancock, Director of Strategic Litigation for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “Ballot design impacts voters, not just candidates for office – and an unfair ballot design disproportionately silences voters of color and lower-income communities. For the sake of New Jersey voters and the health of their democracy, it is time to address this threat to the democratic process."