Allows county clerk or municipal clerk to rotate candidate names on primary election ballots under certain circumstances.

A5283

ASSEMBLY, No. 5283

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� MICHAEL VENEZIA

District 34 (Essex)

SYNOPSIS

���� Allows county clerk or municipal clerk to rotate
candidate names on primary election ballots under certain circumstances.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning the rotation of candidate names appearing on
primary election ballots, amending R.S.19:23-24, and supplementing chapter 23
of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.� �

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� R.S.19:23-24 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 19:23-24. a. The position
which the candidates for the primary for the general election shall have upon
the ballots used for the primary election for the general election, in the case
of candidates for nomination for members of the United States Senate, Governor,
members of the House of Representatives, members of the State Senate, members
of the General Assembly, choice for President, delegates and
alternates-at-large to the national conventions of political parties, district
delegates and alternates to conventions of political parties, candidates for
party positions, other than State political party committee, and county offices
or party positions which are to be voted for by the voters of the entire county
or a portion thereof greater than a single municipality, including a
congressional district which is wholly within a single municipality, shall be
determined by the county clerks in their respective counties.

���� The position on the ballot
used for the primary election for the general election in the case of
candidates for nomination for office or party position wherein the candidates
for office or party position to be filled are to be voted for by the voters of a
municipality only, or a subdivision thereof (excepting in the case of members
of the House of Representatives), which nominating petitions are required to be
filed in the municipal clerk's office, shall be determined by the municipal
clerk in such municipalities, except that, upon written notice by the county
clerk to the municipal clerk, the county clerk shall determine the position on
the ballot for such offices or party positions.

���� The position which the
candidates shall have upon the ballots used for the primary election shall be
determined as specified in this section.�

���� b.��� The county clerk, the
county clerk's deputy, the municipal clerk, or the municipal clerk's deputy, as
the case may be, shall at the clerk's office on the 61st day prior to the
primary election for the general election at three o'clock in the afternoon draw
from the box, as hereinafter described, each card separately without knowledge
on the clerk's part as to which card the clerk is drawing. Any legal voter of
the county or municipality, as the case may be, shall have the privilege of
witnessing such drawing.� The person making the drawing shall make public
announcement at the drawing of each name, the order in which the same is drawn,
and the office for which the drawing is made. When there is to be but one
person nominated for the office, the names of the several candidates who have
filed petitions for such office shall be written upon cards (one name on a
card) of the same size, substance, and thickness.� The cards shall be deposited
in a box with an aperture in the cover of sufficient size to admit a man's
hand.� The box shall be well shaken and turned over to thoroughly mix the
cards, and the cards shall then be withdrawn one at a time.� The first name
drawn shall have first place, the second name drawn, second place, and so on;
the order of the withdrawal of the cards from the box determining the order of
arrangement in which the names shall appear upon the primary election ballot.�
Where there is more than one person to be nominated to an office where
petitions have designated that certain candidates shall be associated pursuant
to R.S.19:23-18, the position of such names on the ballot, together with
individuals who have filed petitions for nomination for such office, shall be
determined as above described.� Where there is more than one person to be nominated
for an office and there are more candidates who have filed petitions than there
are persons to be nominated, the order of the printing of such names upon the
primary election ballots shall be determined as above described.

����
Following an initial draw
for ballot position conducted pursuant to this subsection, and upon approval as
provided under subsection g. of this section, the clerk may, in accordance with
the provisions of section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������ ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), rotate the names of the candidates from the order
determined by the draw, so that the name of each candidate appears
substantially an equal number of times at each possible order, from first to
last, on the ballot before an equal number of voters.� Such rotation may be
conducted by election district pursuant to subsection c. of section of 2 of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.����� ) or by individual ballot pursuant to subsection d. of
section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.����� ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill).�

���� c.���� Candidates for
nomination to the same office with multiple open seats to be voted on who wish
to associate with one another and who have filed a petition of nomination and
waived their right to be drawn individually in compliance with R.S.19:23-18
shall be treated as one name and shall be drawn only once under subsection b.
of this section.

���� d.��� As prohibited by section
2 of P.L.2025, c.32 (C.19:23-23.2), no candidate shall have their position on
the ballot determined by the position of any candidate for a different office.

���� e. (1) If there is only one
candidate for an office to be voted on at the primary election, the candidate
shall be placed first in the office block for the respective office being
sought, and the drawing procedures described in subsection b. of this section
shall not be required.

���� (2) If there are an equal
number of candidates and open seats for an office, and all the candidates
seeking the office have filed a petition of nomination indicating their
intention to associate on the ballot pursuant to R.S.19:23-18, the candidates
shall be placed upon the ballot in the order requested on their petitions of
nomination, and the drawing procedures described in subsection b. of this
section shall not be required.

���� f.���� The county clerk in
certifying to the municipal clerk the offices to be filled and the names of
candidates to be printed upon the ballots used for the primary election for the
general election shall certify them in the order as drawn in accordance with the
provisions of this section,
or pursuant to the rotational procedures
established under section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), if applicable,
and the municipal clerk shall
cause to be printed the names upon the ballots as so certified and in addition
shall print the names of such candidates as have filed petitions with the
municipal clerk in the order as determined as a result of the drawing as above
described.

����
g.��� If a county political
committee or municipal political committee, as the case may be, wishes for the
names of candidates to be nominated by members of that political party at a
primary election for the general election to be rotated pursuant to the
rotational procedures established under section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), and such ballot rotation was not
performed in the preceding primary election, the county political committee or
municipal political committee, as the case may be, not later than 90 days prior
to the primary election, shall make such request of the county clerk or the
municipal clerk, as the case may be, in the respective county or municipality.�
The county clerk or the municipal clerk, as the case may be, shall review the
request and, not later than 75 days prior to the primary election, shall certify
to the members of the county board of elections of the respective political
party making such request that the ballot rotation would be feasible and
implementable in time for the upcoming primary election.� Upon receiving such certification,
the members of the county board of elections of the respective political party
shall meet as soon as practicable, but not later than 68 days prior to the
primary election, to review the request and certification and to approve or
reject the use of ballot rotation in the primary election for their respective
political party. �For an approval to be effective, the members of the board who
are members of the same political party shall unanimously approve the request
and certification.� If the request and certification are not unanimously
approved as required herein, then the ballot drawing procedures used at the
previous primary election shall apply.

����
The approval process
provided by this subsection shall only be required if a different ballot
rotation procedure than was used for the preceding primary election is being
sought for use in an upcoming primary election. �

(cf: P.L.2025, c.32, s.5)

���� 2.��� (New section)� a. �If
approved by the respective members of the county board of elections as required
by subsection g. of R.S.19:23-24, the county clerks or municipal clerks, as the
case may be, may determine the position which the candidates for each race
shall have upon the ballots in each election district as described in
subsection c. of this section, or upon the ballots provided to voters as
described in subsection d. of this section, using a rotational order system and
rotation algorithm as specified herein.� �

���� b. �Following a determination
made in accordance with subsection a. of this section as to which rotational
order system shall be used, the name of each candidate shall be rotated with
the names of the other candidates so that the name of each candidate appears
substantially an equal number of times at each possible order, from first to
last, on the ballot before an equal number of voters. The county clerk or the
municipal clerk, as the case may be, shall conduct either one of the rotation
procedures specified under subsections c. and d. of this section.

���� c.���� For rotations being
conducted by election district, the county clerk or municipal clerk, as the
case may be, shall:

���� (1) �determine the initial or
base rotation of candidate names for all offices and party positions for which
rotation shall be required, using the drawing procedures provided under
R.S.19:23-24;

���� (2) �determine the number of
registered voters in each election district for each race that is subject to
candidate rotation as of 8:00 A.M. on the 65th day before the primary election,
identify such election districts, and arrange such districts in order of the
number of registered voters, from largest to smallest;

���� (3) �calculate the number of
rotations needed for each office by determining the number of candidates for
each office; and

���� (4) �assign an election
district to each rotation as further specified in this subsection.

���� Starting with the largest
election district by population, the county clerk or municipal clerk, as the
case may be, shall assign an election district to each rotation. If there are
more candidates than election districts, the assignments shall stop after the
last election district has been assigned. If there are more election districts
than candidates, the clerk shall keep a running subtotal of the total number of
registered voters assigned to each rotation. After each rotation has been
assigned one election district, the clerk shall assign the next largest
election district to the rotation with the lowest subtotal of registered voters.
The clerk shall continue assigning the next largest election district to the
rotation with the lowest subtotal until all election districts for that race
have been assigned.

���� d.��� For rotations being
conducted by presenting individual ballots to each voter when voting by mail,
voting during the early voting period, or voting in person on election day, the
county clerks or municipal clerks, as the case may be, shall follow the uniform
guidelines developed pursuant to subsection f. of this section, which shall
include, but need not be limited to:

���� (1)�� methods for determining
the number and distribution of mail-in, provisional, emergency, and any other
paper ballots to be used in undertaking the ballot rotation; and

���� (2)�� standards and security
protocols for any computerized algorithm to be used to rotate the order of
candidate names as they appear on voting machine ballots.

���� e.���� Not later than five
days after the order of candidate names has been determined pursuant to this
section, the county clerk or municipal clerk, as the case may be, shall print a
report for each race, showing the rotation subtotals for all races and all candidates
within each race. This report shall be made publicly available on the official
websites of the appropriate county clerk, county board of elections, county
superintendent of elections, and municipal clerk.

���� f.���� Within 30 days of the
effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������ ) (pending before the Legislature
as this bill), the Secretary of State, in consultation with all county clerks,
county boards of elections, and superintendents of election in this State, shall
develop uniform guidelines to be followed to implement a rotational order
system and rotation algorithm established by this section, which shall specify
procedures for achieving the rotation on any paper ballot and voting machine
ballot used in any primary election in this State.

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect January 1 next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� The bill allows county clerks
and municipal clerks, as the case may be, to rotate the names of candidates
appearing on primary election ballots under certain circumstances.�

���� The bill specifies the ballot
rotation procedures that may be conducted, if requested by the county or
municipal committee of a political party.� The political committee may make
this request of the county clerk or municipal clerk, as the case may be, who
will review the request to determine whether the ballot rotation is feasible
and implementable for the upcoming primary election.� If certified, the clerk
will submit the request, along with the certification, for approval by the
members of the county board of elections of the respective political party
making the request for their primary election ballot.� The ballot rotation
procedures will only be implemented if the members of the county board of
elections for the respective party unanimously approve.

���� If ballot rotation is adopted
pursuant to the bill�s provisions, a rotation algorithm would be used to rotate
the order in which the names of candidates will appear on the ballot.� The
various rotated ballots would be presented to the voters by assigning the
ballot versions per election district.� Alternatively, the various rotated
ballots would be randomly presented to each voter when voting by mail, voting
during the early voting period, or voting in person on election day.� As a
result of this rotation, voters may receive different ballot versions, where
the same list of candidates is ordered differently.� The goal of the rotation
system is for each candidate to appear substantially an equal number of times
at each possible order, from first to last, on the ballot before an equal
number of voters, and that no candidate will be advantaged over other
candidates on the basis of their ballot placement or position.