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A state Superior Court judge Monday declined to immediately hear a lawsuit that claims the way New Jersey election law allows the names of the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates to be placed on the ballot is unconstitutional.
The decision by Judge Theodore Bozonelis, sitting in Morristown, means it is unlikely a challenger, such as Independent Chris Daggett or Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan, who helped bring about the lawsuit, will be any threat in the Nov. 3 election to Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine or Republican nominee Chris Christie. Five New Jersey voters joined Daggett and Kaplan in the suit.
Daggett and Kaplan were hoping that Bozonelis would rule that ballots issued by the 21 county boards of elections should be redrawn to provide somewhat equal ballot positions for each of the 12 gubernatorial candidates.
Instead, Bozonelis said he would not make an immediate decision. The judge said lengthy reviews and hearings would be necessary for a judge to decide is the lawsuit is one a court should consider."There is not a basis that I can order or expedite a hearing,'' Bozonelis said. "It cannot be done – it will not be done – before the November 3 election. The court won't decide it's unconstitutional.''
Bozonelis did grant Daggett and his co-plaintiffs the right to appeal his decision not to immediately hear the case.
On New Jersey general election ballots, Democratic and Republican candidates get the first two columns. The names of challengers are sometimes crowded together in another section of the ballot.
– TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
