New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson’s ruling in the Empower Our Neighborhood, et al. v. Guadagno, et al. case may have a significant impact on nominating petitions. Empower Our Neighborhood (EON) is an educational and advocacy group that focuses on issues that impact residents of New Brunswick. Facts of
The recent opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Committee has struck a blow to the regulation of money in elections. The Court struck down the federal limits on the total amounts individual donors may contribute to candidates and political committees. The Court reasoned that donating
In Finkel v. Township Committee of Township of Hopewell, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court considered the interplay between two statutes governing the timeframe for submitting municipal referendums for inclusion on a ballot. The panel concluded that municipalities must follow all applicable deadlines and declared the referendum
In a recent decision, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court further clarified the law surrounding voter initiatives under the Faulkner Act. The case, Redd v. Bowman, examined whether an initiative to prohibit the City of Camden from disbanding its police department and join a county force, impermissibly
In Zimmer v. Castellano and Booker v. Rice, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior was asked to determine the legal effect of abstention. The specific question before the panel was whether the a city council has the authority to deem a council member’s abstention to be a “no”
A recent Appellate Division decision reinforces that municipalities need not always rigidly enforce New Jersey election laws. As specifically highlighted by the court, such laws should be “relaxed where enforcement of the right of choice in the election process is unreasonably thwarted.” The Facts of the Case Regalado v. Curling involved
Legislation that would require early voting in most New Jersey elections now awaits Gov. Chris Christie’s consideration. Under the proposal (S-2364), early voting in the general election and primary for the general election would begin on the 15th day before the election and ending on the second calendar day before
Gov. Chris Christie was able to skirt his political feud with state Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Essex, to secure the nomination of his judicial appointee, Former Attorney General Paula Dow. Dow was originally nominated in Essex County, but had to move to Burlington County in order to avoid the political impasse
