When New Jersey voters take to the polls
Tuesday to select their choice for governor, those supporting the Democrat or Republican will easily find their chosen candidate since they can be found in the first two rows of the ballot.
But voters who want to support the many Independent candidates running this year will have to hunt around for their choices, many of whom are listed with unaffiliated candidates and relegated to the outer reaches of the ballot.
“We are governed by the statutes. [They] lay out how a ballot should be determined,” said Hudson County Clerk Barbara Netchert last week. “The state statues provide that we assign the first two columns to the political parties, meaning the Democrats and Republicans.”
One study concluded that candidates who are listed first on a ballot get, on average, 2.5 percent more votes than other candidates.
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This year the Democrats, with incumbent gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine at the top of the ticket, have been assigned Column A on the Hudson County ballot. Beneath Corzine, voters throughout the county will find the rest of the Democratic slate.
In Secaucus, for example, that means voters will see Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D- 32nd Dist.) and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-32nd Dist.), both running for reelection, listed under Corzine. State Sen. Loretta Weinberg is running for the newly-created lieutenant governor position with Corzine.
Right next to the Democrats, in Column B, voters will find Corzine’s Republican challenger, Christopher Christie, and his lieutenant governor candidate, Kim Guadagna.
But voters who want to support other gubernatorial candidates, say Independent Christopher Daggett or Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan — who are not affiliated with either of the two major political parties — will have to do a bit of hunting.
In Hudson County, Daggett and his Lt. Gov. candidate, Frank Esposito, are in Column 2C.
“[In Hudson County] the Daggett/Esposito ticket [has] a position that is not nearly as difficult as what Daggett supporters face in other counties,” said Daggett spokesman Tom Johnson.
Confusing in Secaucus
In Secaucus, the Democratic Town Council candidates are listed after the gubernatorial and Assembly candidates, depending on the voter’s ward. First Ward residents will have the option of supporting Dawn McAdam. Residents in the 2nd Ward can vote for Frank Trombetta. Third Ward residents can vote for John Reilly.
But Secaucus’ local Independent ticket is lined up under Daggett. Independent mayoral candidate Michael Gonnelli is listed in Column 6C. The Independent council candidates are listed in Column 7C, depending on their ward. In the 1st Ward, Robert Costantino is listed in Column 7C. In the 2nd Ward John Bueckner is in 7C. William McKeever occupies Column 7C in the 3rd Ward.
Gonnelli said he’s not concerned.
“The last time I ran I was worried about that,” he said. “I thought people would go right down the Democratic line and forget about me because I was in a different column. I was in Column E that year, but I won by a huge number of votes.”
Unfair advantage?
Netchert said last week that she often has to explain how ballot positions are determined to nervous candidates who worry their assigned column will cost them votes.
“Candidates will ask, ‘How come I have to be out here? Why can’t I be over there?’ And this year was tough because we had to stack a lot of [gubernatorial] candidates across the top of the ballot,” Netchert said. “But I think our ballots are fairly clear, given our space constraints.”
There are 10 independent and minor party candidates running for governor this year, and on the Hudson County ballot they’re stacked on top of each other, two candidates per row. “And we haven’t had many voters complain about the design of the ballot layout, so I think voters feel they are able to find candidates quickly and easily.”
But not everyone agrees with that position.
Some academic studies have concluded that candidates whose names are listed first on a ballot are likely to get more votes than other candidates simply because of their ballot assignment. One landmark study concluded that candidates who are listed first on a ballot get, on average, 2.5 percent more votes than other candidates.
Daggett and Kaplan, the Libertarian candidate for governor, have filed a lawsuit to prevent New Jersey from automatically reserving the top two ballot positions for Democrats and Republicans. Their suit argues that this practice unconstitutionally favors candidates who are supported by the major parties.
‘They’ll find us’
Veterans of Independent campaigns don’t put much stock in ballot position and its effect on election outcomes.
“I ran in ’93 and I was out in some column way out on the right hand side, and every year – I think it was seven times I ran – I was always sitting out there and the people always managed to find me,” Bueckner said last week. Bueckner has been an Independent Town Councilman in Secaucus for 16 years. “I’m really not concerned this time. If they want to vote for us, they’ll find us.”
Gonnelli agrees.
“Daggett’s above us this year. But I don’t think that’s going to be a problem because we’re running in a local election,” he said. “People are going to vote for Christie or Corzine or whoever they’re going to vote for – then they’ll look for the people they want for council.”
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.