{"id":2209370,"date":"2024-03-29T17:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T21:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/win-for-kim-judge-grants-permission-to-toss-new-jerseys-county-line-in-this-years-election\/"},"modified":"2024-03-29T17:55:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T21:55:40","slug":"win-for-kim-judge-grants-permission-to-toss-new-jerseys-county-line-in-this-years-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/win-for-kim-judge-grants-permission-to-toss-new-jerseys-county-line-in-this-years-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim wins: Judge allows removal of New Jersey county line in upcoming election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwin-for-kim-judge-grants-permission-to-toss-new-jerseys-county-line-in-this-years-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2209370&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>After a prolonged legal battle, \u2062U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi granted Rep. Andy\u2062 Kim&#8217;s request to abolish New Jersey&#8217;s county line, giving equal footing to all candidates.\u2063 The ruling aims to enhance the democratic process\u200c by removing the unfair advantage\u200d previously held by party-backed candidates. Kim celebrated \u200cthe \u2062decision as a win for fair and democratic politics in\u2064 New Jersey. U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi recently granted Rep. Andy Kim&#8217;s request to eliminate New Jersey&#8217;s county line, leveling the playing field for\u200b all \u2063candidates. This ruling seeks to promote fairness in the\u200c electoral process by eliminating the advantage previously enjoyed by party-backed candidates. Kim views this decision as a significant step towards fostering fair and democratic politics in New Jersey.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>After a yearslong fight and high-profile legal battle, New Jersey\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2922949\/push-to-abolish-new-jersey-county-line-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>county line<\/a> will no longer stand as U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi granted Rep. Andy Kim\u2019s (D-NJ) request for a preliminary injunction. <\/p>\n<p>Quraishi, who oversaw the case, effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/newjerseyglobe.com\/judiciary\/quraishi-overturns-the-county-line\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>overturned<\/a> the county line in Kim\u2019s lawsuit against 19 county clerks who use the line. The county line places party-backed candidates on an organizational line, giving them an advantage over other candidates whose names are placed in \u201cballot Siberia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake and the remedy Plaintiffs are seeking is extraordinary,\u201d Quraishi wrote. \u201cMandatory injunctive relief is reserved only for the most unusual cases. Plaintiffs\u2019 burden on this Motion is therefore particularly heavy. Nevertheless, the Court finds, based on this record, that Plaintiffs have met their burden and that this is the rare instance when mandatory relief is warranted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rare decision right now applies to this year\u2019s election up and down the ballot in all races from local to federal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s decision is a victory for a fairer, more democratic politics in New Jersey. It\u2019s a victory built from the incredible grassroots work of activists across our state who saw an undemocratic system marginalizing the voices of voters, and worked tirelessly to fix it,\u201d Kim said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andykim.com\/2024\/03\/29\/congressman-andy-kim-statement-granting-emergency-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statement<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile fixing this unfair ballot system is a massive step forward towards perfecting our democracy, there is still work to be done. Both in New Jersey and nationwide, we need to regain the trust of the voters we serve,\u201d Kim said. <\/p>\n<p>In his 49-page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/f\/?id=0000018e-8af5-d570-adaf-aef769620000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>opinion<\/a>, the arguments put forth by Kim and his two co-plaintiffs said the county line gives some candidates an unfair advantage, violating the Constitution\u2019s elections clause. The Constitution\u2019s elections clause prohibits states from influencing elections in federal offices. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlaintiffs\u2019 evidence is sufficient to make their showing of a likelihood they will succeed in establishing that the Bracketing Structure and ballot placement is improperly influencing primary election outcomes by virtue of the layout on the primary ballots,\u201d Quraishi said.<\/p>\n<p>County clerks <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/wildstein\/status\/1773746298274881999?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>intend<\/a> to appeal the decision. They tried to make a case earlier that New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy\u2019s exit from the race changed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2939310\/andy-kim-back-movement-get-rid-county-line-now-benefiting-him\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>circumstances<\/a> of the lawsuit. Quraishi did not agree with that point. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefendants\u2019 arguments that the changed political landscape has eliminated Kim\u2019s associational harm is specious at best,\u201d Quraishi said. \u201cThe Court reiterates that Kim\u2019s harms are not alleviated because his main opponent withdrew from the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The line has kept well-connected New Jerseyans in power for decades. Studies show candidates placed on the line have up to a 38-point advantage over candidates not on the county line. If elected to the U.S. Senate, Kim will be the first person from South Jersey elected to the Senate in over 20 years.  <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a lengthy legal battle, Judge Zahid Quraishi grants Rep. Andy Kim\u2019s (D-NJ) request to remove New Jersey\u2019s county line. This decision, overturning the line in Kim\u2019s lawsuit against 19 county clerks, marks a significant victory after years of fighting. The removal of the county line comes after a high-profile legal battle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2209371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/kim-nj-2-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2209370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/kim-nj-2-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2209370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2209371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2209370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2209370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2209370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}