Latest news with #NewJerseyElections
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
What else is on the June 10 NJ primary ballot? Assembly races
While the top of the June 10 primary ballot is often the most discussed, all 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly are also up for reelection and there are more candidates in this year's primary than there have been in decades. Antoinette Miles, state director for New Jersey Working Families, said she attributes this year's Assembly races to the end of the county line system. 'We've been in a reform wave in New Jersey buoyed by the candidacy of now Sen. Andy Kim and continues to be buoyed throughout this election and I don't think you get that without the end of the county line,' she said. 'Even if you look back to two years ago, 2023, we saw a number of legislators leave the state Legislature either due to retirement or similar turnover in that effect, yet we know it was only 11% of legislative seats actually contested.' Miles said that it's exciting the state is 'no longer in era of choiceless primaries' and that 'voters actually get to choose.' She also said that the end of the line will impact incumbents as well because they may use it as an opportunity to 'find their independent footing' because there are some that 'do want to be independent from the political machine or their party boss but haven't had the opportunity to do that.' Ben Dworkin, founding director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship, agreed that the elimination of the line has made it easier to run. 'Every county of New Jersey's 21 counties had their own way of determining who was on the line,' he said. 'Some were more democratic than others, but with its elimination, it just made it easier for people to run.' This is the first primary in which all 21 counties will use the block ballot design as opposed to the county line design. The line traditionally gave candidates endorsed by the county party preferred ballot placement, and an edge in their efforts, but it was dismantled by a federal judge last year. There are 24 competitive districts on the Democratic side of the aisle while Republicans will see contested races in seven. NJ Primary Election 2025: Our complete guide to voting, governor candidates, local races Campaign finance: How are candidates for NJ governor spending in the last days of the primary campaign? Dworkin also said there is the Fulop factor, referring to the slate of candidates that have joined with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop under his 'Democrats for Change' effort. He said Fulop entered the gubernatorial primary trying to take the progressive lane but after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka jumped in and 'took that lane away,' Fulop pivoted to a more reform focused candidacy, which Dworkin said has helped him in terms of finding support. 'He's trying to capture the lightning in a bottle that Andy Kim caught last year. He's trying to duplicate that,' Dworkin said. 'Part of his strategy has been to try and take advantage of the fact that there is no line, no ballot geography that automatically hampers one candidate in their effort to take on another and because they're all going to be grouped together he's running his own candidates as the Fulop political reform team.' Miles said there's a 'lot of weight in New Jersey politically that's put in a six-word slogan' but that at the end of the day that's not how voters choose candidates and that in cases of a 'slate effect,' voters will choose who is best for their district. Dworkin said it's still the beginning of this new era so it will take time to see how elections post-line will play out, but candidates that are ambitious or inspired by a local issue may be more inclined to jump into the fray. That doesn't mean actual organization and support with a base willing to do campaign legwork like door knocking and cold calls isn't important. The members in District 15, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli aren't facing any challenges during the primary and the district hasn't had any Republicans file to run in the fall. There are also four members of the Assembly who are not seeking reelection: Assemblymen Reginald Atkins, John Allen, Julio Marenco and Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter. Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@ This article originally appeared on NJ primary election Assembly races
Forbes
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Engaging Young Voters In Off-Year Election Cycles
New Jersey is one of five states that hold elections for statewide office in odd-numbered years, meaning New Jerseyans never have a year off from voting. Young people, especially first-time voters, need to be engaged every year. Gen Z makes up nearly one-fifth of the American electorate, and voted at historically high rates in the last two presidential elections. Nationally, youth engagement in elections is increasing; however, participation and voter turnout in New Jersey's off-year elections is much lower — including for our youngest voters. Based on recent voting rates, it's expected that the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial race will again attract a low percentage of youth voters, even as state elections become increasingly more impactful for youth and college students. The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public institution home to about 7,000 undergraduate students. Because more than 90% of TCNJ students are in-state, the TCNJ Votes initiative works year-round to support nonpartisan voter engagement efforts and promote civic engagement and voter education on campus. A cross-campus collaboration, we have representation from the Student Government, the Office of Leadership, and the Center for Community Engagement. TCNJ Votes Fellows Jaclyn Romano, Andrew LaMonte, and Sarah Kasziba-O'Rahilly tabling in the TCNJ Student Center ahead of the November 2024 election. Yunuen Bonaparte for The Hechinger Report TCNJ Votes employs a variety of strategies to meet students where they are, including incorporating nonpartisan voter education modules into platforms used by the entire campus community, hosting frequent tables in the Student Center where students can speak with our trained student leaders about voting, and partnering with faculty and student organizations to host nonpartisan voter registration and education events. Student voters want to be engaged, and something as simple as adding a prize wheel to our table has increased foot traffic at our tabling events. These efforts have certainly paid off: in 2020, TCNJ had a student voting rate of 83.1% — an impressive 17 points above the national average across all institutions. We also won first place in the NJ Ballot Bowl in our division in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Still, low media coverage of off-year elections leads to a dropoff in student voter engagement. According to our 2022 NSLVE Campus Report, our voting rate was 21.9% — 61.2 points lower than the 2020 election, and 13.2 points lower than the 2018 midterms. With this in mind, we began implementing new strategies in 2024 to increase student voter participation every year, not just during presidential and midterm elections. Peer-to-peer or 'relational organizing' is the most effective and meaningful way to motivate students to participate in the democratic process. In 2024, with support from the Ask Every Student Implementation Grant, we developed a cohort of TCNJ Voting Fellows — student leaders who collaborate with student organizations and faculty to improve student voter engagement. Students hosted over a dozen successful events and informational social media campaigns, collectively reaching 308 students over the course of one semester. Reflecting on her time as a fellow, Sarah Kasziba-O'Rahilly said, 'TCNJ Votes gave me the opportunity to have open conversations with people on my campus through tabling and events and removed the tension that comes with talking politics. Being a nonpartisan organization was also a learning experience, helping students make informed decisions without involving personal biases.' Her reflection emphasizes the importance of meeting college voters where they are, and allowing them to guide conversations about voting and ask TCNJ Votes for support. We encourage the TCNJ Voting Fellows to seek out ways to connect with students on issues they are passionate about and help them understand how their vote is a powerful advocacy tool for these issues. For example, TCNJ Votes Fellow Cathy Zheng hosted 'Boba and Ballots,' an event cosponsored by the Chinese Students Association on campus. She provided sweets for students while they came to fill out their mail-in ballot applications. The event allowed Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) students to connect with each other and discuss topics specific to their interests and passions, and drew in the second-highest headcount we saw for a TCNJ Votes event. Building community spaces has become a staple of successful TCNJ Votes events. Terrell Osei-Kyei, another TCNJ Votes Fellow, hosted an event called 'People, Policy, and Planet.' Terrell brought together the environmental club, the humanitarian engineering club, the engineering department, and local government officials working in areas of sustainability. This nonpartisan event attracted the most attendees of any TCNJ Votes event and prompted students to learn how their vote can impact our environment and the planet for future generations. Throughout the semester, the Fellows helped students — who initially described themselves as uninterested in voting — have 'lightbulb moments' when they saw the issues they cared about connected to the democratic process. Some of the lessons learned from the Fellow's inaugural year may seem obvious: free food and prizes draw students in, no matter the event; planning events in the evenings or on non-class days improves attendance; and coordinating and co-sponsoring with student organizations garners more attention on social media and higher attendance rates at events. But other takeaways were unexpected, and will help shape how we engage students in 2025. Gen Z youth are craving community and a space not just to be talked at, but to be a part of the conversation. While panel discussions and keynote speakers drew smaller crowds, community-building events like the Boba and Sustainability events drew in more students and increased the likelihood of attendees returning to future TCNJ Votes events. TCNJ Votes Fellow Terrell Osei-Kyei and other New Jersey college students discuss voter engagement at the second annual NJ Voting Summit at Princeton University. Courtesy of the Dean of Undergraduate Students at Princeton University Due to the success of our inaugural fellows, we've decided to set aside institutional funding to continue the TCNJ Voting Fellows program this summer and fall regardless of grant awards and maintain the momentum in our community. Currently, our efforts are focused on educating students about the gubernatorial primary, how they can register and vote in this election, and where they can find further resources to learn more about the candidates. As part of our educational process, we are sharing nonpartisan fact sheets with dates and information on how state and local government impacts the issues students care about. We highlight how state and local elections will impact things like gun control, environmental sustainability, funding for higher education, and access to healthcare — issues that we know our students are passionate about. Student leaders are trained to engage their peers on these topics while refraining from giving advice on which candidates or issues to support. The idea is simply to get the conversation started so that our trained students can then help their peers check their registration, make a plan to vote, and spread the word to their friends. With less than a month until the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial primaries on June 10, 2025, now is the time for campus leaders to prioritize nonpartisan voter engagement. Each year in New Jersey is a new opportunity to engage first-time voters and encourage students to participate in our democratic system, putting their education and experience into practice as active and engaged citizens. Civic engagement efforts can no longer simply tell students to vote. We must utilize peer-to-peer leadership, engage with young voters on the issues most important to them, and continue this engagement 365 days a year — not just once every four years. The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is one of more than 1000 colleges and universities currently participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. Learn more about ALL IN and support our work here.
