{"id":2498521,"date":"2025-10-13T17:25:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T21:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-jersey-county-ordered-to-fix-unlawful-ballot-design-that-favored-democrats\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T17:27:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T21:27:22","slug":"new-jersey-county-ordered-to-fix-unlawful-ballot-design-that-favored-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-jersey-county-ordered-to-fix-unlawful-ballot-design-that-favored-democrats\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey county ordered to fix &#8216;unlawful ballot design&#8217; that favored Democrats"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fnew-jersey-county-ordered-to-fix-unlawful-ballot-design-that-favored-democrats%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=2498521&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>A New Jersey county, gloucester, has been ordered by a state appellate court to reprint its general election ballots after the Republican National Committee successfully challenged a ballot redesign that allegedly favored Democrats. The controversy arose when Democratic County Clerk James Hogan replaced the legally required party-column ballot format,which organizes candidates by party vertically,with an office-block layout grouping candidates by office nonetheless of party. Republicans argued this change reduced their visibility adn undermined their campaign strategy, since their candidates had drawn the prominent Column A position.The appellate court ruled that the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >redesigned ballots violated state law requiring<\/a> the column format and mandated that Gloucester County produce new, compliant ballots in time for early in-person voting. This ruling overturned an earlier decision that had allowed the ballots to stand due to concerns about voter confusion. Gloucester County is politically significant as a swing area trending Republican, and the ballot design change could have affected key races including the gubernatorial contest between Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill. Early voting ballots will be updated, though mail ballots will remain in the original format. The Republican challenge was supported by RNC leadership and handled by legal professionals including attorney Harmeet Dhillon. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters condemned the attempted ballot redesign as an effort to hinder Republican voters and emphasized the court&#8217;s affirmation of election law compliance.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">New Jersey county ordered to fix &lsquo;unlawful ballot design&rsquo; that favored Democrats<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2365770\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Jersey<\/a> county&nbsp;that could play a decisive role in the next month&rsquo;s statewide elections will be reprinting its general election ballots after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rnc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Republican National Committee<\/a> successfully argued that a ballot redesign unlawfully favored Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute began late last month when Democratic County Clerk&nbsp;James Hogan&nbsp;replaced Gloucester County&rsquo;s legally required&nbsp;party-column ballot format, where each political party&rsquo;s candidates appear under a single vertical heading, with an&nbsp;office-block layout that grouped all candidates for each race together, regardless of party.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3848757\/mike-johnson-floods-airwaves-messaging-fight-government-shutdown\/\">Mike Johnson floods airwaves as &#8216;messaging fight&#8217; over government shutdown drags on<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3848626\/ukraine-hopes-benefit-trump-gaza-momentum\/\">Ukraine hopes to benefit from Trump&#8217;s Gaza momentum with its own peace<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3848687\/angel-studios-young-washington-movie-trailer-ahead-us-250th-birthday\/\">Angel Studios releases &#8216;Young Washington&#8217; biopic trailer ahead of US 250th birthday<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Republicans argued the change undermined their visibility on the ballot and blunted their &ldquo;Vote Column A&rdquo; campaign after winning&nbsp;the position of Column A&nbsp;in the county&rsquo;s ballot drawing. On Friday, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-rules-trump-must-testify-in-ny-investigation\/\" title=\"Judge Rules Trump Must Testify in NY Investigation\">state appellate court ruled<\/a> that Hogan&rsquo;s layout violated the law and ordered reprints of ballots in time for early voting later this month.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voting booths set up in rows on Election Day. (Photo credit: iStock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The panel overturned an earlier ruling by&nbsp;Superior Court Judge Benjamin Telsey, who had agreed the design was illegal but allowed the ballots to stand, citing possible voter confusion. The appellate court said those concerns were unsupported by evidence and ordered new, column-style ballots for in-person voting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The existing ballot design does not comply with [state laws] which plainly require ballots for the general election to be arranged in a &lsquo;column&rsquo; format,&rdquo; the judges wrote, <a href=\"https:\/\/newjerseyglobe.com\/local\/appeals-court-orders-gloucester-county-to-design-new-ballots-in-time-for-in-person-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to a portion of the ruling seen by <em>New Jersey Globe<\/em>. &ldquo;Defendants point to nothing in these provisions that would afford a county clerk any discretion to depart from that format.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The move was especially controversial because Gloucester is one of several swing counties in New Jersey that have trended more Republican in recent years. Of the state&rsquo;s 21 counties,&nbsp;18 saw double-digit point swings toward President Donald Trump between 2020 and 2024. Only&nbsp;Burlington, Gloucester, and Cape May&nbsp;saw single-digit shifts, but those were still in Trump&rsquo;s favor.<\/p>\n<p>The design change could have limited Republican gubernatorial candidate&nbsp;Jack Ciattarelli&rsquo;s influence in Gloucester County, where two competitive&nbsp;state Assembly seats&nbsp;and control of the&nbsp;county government&nbsp;are also on the line this year. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ciattarelli is facing off against Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill to determine who will succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.<\/p>\n<p>Election officials must now prepare the column ballot design by&nbsp;Wednesday&nbsp;to meet the&nbsp;Oct. 25 early voting&nbsp;deadline. Mail voters will still use the old office-block ballots, while in-person voters will receive corrected versions.<\/p>\n<p>Last month,&nbsp;Telsey&nbsp;ruled that the clerk&rsquo;s design violated state law but declined to order a reprint. Telsey did, however, order the county to reimburse Republicans&nbsp;$26,007&nbsp;for campaign materials affected by the illegal ballot design.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3845397\/nj-gop-gubernatorial-candidate-ciattarelli-plans-defamation-lawsuit-against-opponent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CIATTARELLI PLANS TO FILE DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AGAINST SHERRILL IN NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL RACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit was backed by RNC Chairman Joe Gruters and led by attorneys for the Dhillon Law Group, founded by Harmeet Dhillon, now the assistant attorney general who leads the Justice Department&rsquo;s Civil Rights Division.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Democrats in New Jersey tried to secretly redesign ballots to make it harder for voters to choose Republican candidates,&rdquo; Gruters said following the decision Friday. The &ldquo;court made clear they cannot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rfk-jr-bidens-censorship-regime-is-arguably-a-worse-threat-to-democracy-than-trump\/\" title=\"RFK Jr. suggests Biden\u2019s censorship could be a greater danger to democracy than Trump\">ignore state election law<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NJ county must fix ballot design that favored Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2498522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nj-ballot-1.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[65166,33739,33096,43116,32570],"class_list":["post-2498521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ballot-design","tag-election-law","tag-new-jersey","tag-political-bias","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/nj-ballot-1.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498521","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2498521"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2498525,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498521\/revisions\/2498525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2498522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2498521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2498521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2498521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}