We are just five days away until Primary Election Day in New Jersey on June 4th where Democrats and Republicans (and those unaffiliated choosing to participate) elect candidates who they want to represent them on the ballot in November for these County and Federal positions:
- President of the United States
- United States Senator
- United States House of Representatives
- Hudson County Surrogate - Appoints representatives for estates to probate wills, grant Letters of Administration or Guardianship for Minors.
THE PRIMARY BALLOT - WHAT & WHO
New Ballot Design!!! ... for Democrats only:
Remember all that talk about how New Jersey has a broken ballot? Where historically all candidates have been lined up in one column which gives those in the column a 95% chance of winning with a 30+% margin in a contested race? Well, this year, as I have reported previously, Senate candidate Andy Kim challenged this design in court and won! But it only applied to the Democratic Primary ballot. You can actually see the difference in this year’s sample ballot. Note the "office block" design for Democrats which groups by office being sought, and the broken ballot / “line” design for Republicans which groups candidates by party endorsement.
I know little about the Republican Senate race, which is the only contested one on the Republican ballot, but because of the design, Christine Serrano Glasser has the ballot advantage in Hudson County given she has “the line”.
What happens next year is anyone’s guess. The court decision only applied to this year’s primary but hopefully it will be precedent setting. The good news is the Federal judged who ruled in the Andy Kim case, is the same judge who is ruling in the litigation on ballot design for all primary elections in NJ. Fingers crossed he rules soon so we have this clarity, and the new ballot design, going into next year’s primary elections.
Candidates in Contested Races for the Democratic Primary (ordered by Ballot position):
United States Senate:
- Lawrence Hamm (1B) - Lawrence Hamm for US Senate 2024
- Andy Kim (2B) - Andy Kim for New Jersey - Restoring Integrity to the US Senate
- Patricia Campos Medina (3B) - Patricia Campos-Medina for U.S. Senate
United States House of Representatives:
- Kyle Jasey (1C) - Jasey for Jersey NJ-08
- Ravi Bhalla (2C) - Ravi Bhalla for Congress
- Rob Menendez (3C) - Rob Menendez - Our Congressman. For Our Toughest Fights.
Candidates in Contested Races for the Republican Primary (ordered by Column):
United States Senate:
- Justin Murphy (2A) - Justin Murphy for US Senate | Facebook
- Curtis Bashaw (2B) - Curtis Bashaw for U.S. Senate
- Albert Harshaw (2C) - Albert Harshaw 4 New Jersey US Senate – Defending American Freedom For Generations
- Christine Serrano Glassner (2D) - Christine for US Senate
If other candidates not affiliated with either the Democrat or Republican parties are running for office, they do not participate in the primary, but will be on the ballot in November alongside the winners of this primary.
VOTING CAN BE AS EASY AS 1-2-3
I get asked repeatedly this time of year about recommendations for who to vote for in the upcoming election. This year is different than others mainly because we are voting for recognizable Federal offices and the senate and congressional races have been very visible. As you know, I am a Democrat so will be voting in the Democrat Primary and this is what I will say about this election:
Voting in the Democratic Primary is as easy as 1-2-3!
HOW TO VOTE IN THIS PRIMARY
WHO CAN VOTE?
Every state is different. In NJ, only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in the primary. If you are not affiliated with any party, then you can vote in either the Democrat or Republican primary, but will need to register with that party when you are voting. If you do register for one of the parties at the polls in order to vote in this primary, you can always change your registration affiliation after the election. If you are registered for any other party – for example, the Libertarian or Green party – you cannot change your party at this point to participate in this primary election.
HOW AND WHEN CAN YOU VOTE?
- At the Polls on Election Day June 4th: Like November’s general election, all 42 polling locations city wide will be open from 6am to 8pm. You can click here to find your polling location: NJ DOS - Division of Elections - Polling Place Search . If you were sent a mail in ballot, but didn’t send it back, you will not be able to vote in the machine. But you will still be able to vote using a provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day. This is effectively filling out a ballot by hand.
- Today thru Sunday, June 2nd via In Person Early Voting: You can do this ONLY at City Hall and only for four more days – 10am to 8pm Except Sunday, which is 10am to 6pm. It is basically just like voting on Election Day, only early! As of yesterday, already 99 people had voted in Hoboken!
- Vote By Mail: Those who have applied for a vote by mail ballot, have been able to vote for the past few weeks. If you have your ballot, you can either drop it in the mail, or drop it in one of the following secure drop box locations in Hoboken:
- City Hall, Newark St. Entrance
- Stevens Gateway Bldg., Hudson & 6th
- Monroe St, 7th & 8th (West side)
WHAT CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT AM I IN?
Hoboken is in the 8th Congressional district of NJ which includes all or part of 13 municipalities in mostly Hudson County, with some in Essex (Newark) and Union (Elizabeth) counties. As you can see by the map below - yes, it could not look more gerrymandered - its geography spans from the Hudson River waterfront to transportation ports in Elizabeth and parts of downtown Newark. It is one of the most diverse districts in the entire US including 40% of the population being hispanic. If you click this link you can see data about CD8's diversity: Congressional District 8, NJ | Data USA
Congressional District 8 Map:
It goes without saying that this is a pretty important election to choose who will represent us at the Federal level. The best way you can show how democracy is important to you is by voting. So many other countries do not give there residents this choice. So I hope you take the time to exercise this incredible right, that many people fought for in years past, that you have today. #MoreVoicesAreAlwaysBetter.
As always, please share this with everyone you know who may be interested and reach out any time on any issue important to you: 201-208-1764 or [email protected].
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken City Council, 2nd Ward
Engage. Inform. Advocate.
“More Voices are Better”
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