NYT’s article highlights how powerbrokers throughout New Jersey use “The Line” to place favored candidates in primary ballots’ coveted first columns. “The Line” severely compromise New Jersey’s democracy, giving us the illusion of choice while effectively taking away our voice.
This should concern unaffiliated NJ voters because it’s these same party bosses that keep New Jersey closed primary state. Fortunately, proactive unaffiliated voters can vote in the upcoming Tuesday June 5th primaries; if they are willing to have their voter registration change, even just for a day. Independent voters that want to move New Jersey closer to being an open primary state may want to voter for the candidates that are least beholding to the party bosses by voting for the candidates in the columns past the empty columns to the right of first full column.