N.J. lawmakers consider shortening timeline to fill House vacancies

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4 days ago

The bill comes after two sitting House members died last year, leaving their seats vacant for five months. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
New Jersey lawmakers are considering changes to the state's special election rules after two sitting members of New Jersey's House delegation died in office last year, deaths that led each of those seats to remain vacant for five months.
The legislation, which would shorten timelines for special elections to fill House vacancies, comes as another New Jersey member of Congress could step down by next January. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill are among six Democrats competing in June 10's gubernatorial primary, and if either is victorious in the primary and then in November, they would have to vacate their House seat.
Bill sponsor Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex) said the state's current rules on filling House vacancies need to be changed.
'I thought it was pretty important that we get rid of this so that the people of New Jersey have representation, and if they don't have it, make sure that gets filled as quickly as possible,' he told the New Jersey Monitor.
He added: 'We've got two members of Congress … running for governor, so there's a reasonable likelihood there will be another vacancy starting in January, whenever the transition occurs.'
Sherrill's and Gottheimer's Democratic rivals have criticized both of them for putting their seats in jeopardy of being vacant if they win the primary. Republicans have just a two-seat majority in the House.
The Senate's state government committee on Thursday briefly discussed the New Jersey bill, but it did not vote on it.
Though New Jersey law and the U.S. Constitution allow New Jersey governors to make interim appointments to fill empty Senate seats — as when Gov. Phil Murphy appointed his former chief of staff George Helmy to fill a Senate vacancy after Bob Menendez resigned — the Constitution requires House vacancies to be filled by elections, if they are filled at all.
Presently, New Jersey has three separate structures for filling House vacancies, and timing determines which is used.
If a seat becomes empty at least 70 days before a June primary for any office, the governor is required to order them filled at the next general election, with nominees decided during that primary.
If the seat becomes vacant within the 70 days preceding a primary but more than 70 days from the general election in an odd-numbered year, the governor may — but is not required to — call for the seat to be filled at the state's next general election. In such cases, a district's county committee members choose their party's nominee.
State law also allows the governor to call for special elections — with both primaries and generals — to fill House vacancies. Gov. Phil Murphy called for a special election last year after Rep. Donald Payne Jr.'s April death. Then-Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver won the special primary in July to be the Democratic Party's nominee and won the special election in September to serve the remainder of Payne's term (she won election to a full term in November).
Murphy did not call for an election in August when Rep. Bill Pascrell died. Democratic officials picked then-state Sen. Nellie Pou (D-Passaic) to replace him on the November ballot, and she was elected to a full term.
Under current law, when the governor is required to call for a special election, there is no required timeline for them to do so.
'They can keep that seat vacant until the next general election, and they frankly might do that for politics if there's a razor-thin margin and it's a Democratic seat, or vice-versa,' bill sponsor state Sen. John McKeon (D-Essex) said Thursday.
The bill would require the governor to call for a special election within 10 days of a seat becoming vacant unless there are fewer than 100 days remaining in the unexpired term.
First introduced following Payne's death, the bill would require special elections — including primaries — to be held between 74 and 80 days after a seat becomes vacant when there are more than 180 days left before the end of the current Congress.
Vacancies incurred with between 100 and 180 days left in the term would be filled by special elections held between 80 and 86 days after the seat becomes vacant. In that case, there would be no special primary, and district county committee members would select parties' nominees.
If a House seat becomes vacant within 100 days of the end of the congressional term, it would be filled at the next regular election. County committees would select replacements for candidates who die after they've been placed on the ballot, as they do under current law.
That timeline especially is condensed by the bill. Under current law, House vacancy races with special primaries can sit empty for more than five months.
'This is now practical as opposed to theoretical. We went through it with the death of Congressman Payne and then the death of Congressman Pascrell,' McKeon said. 'We figured out what a nuisance it is, quite frankly, and a nightmare to fill those congressional seats.'
Zwicker said he hoped to have the bill passed before the end of Murphy's term in early January.
Fears about another vacancy redoubled after Rep. Donald Norcross (D-01) was hospitalized for an infection that turned septic in early April. Norcross was discharged from the hospital after roughly a month following the life-threatening episode.
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