N.J. Supreme Court won't hear fusion voting case

An effort to bring about fusion voting in New Jersey via court action appears to be officially dead.

Proponents of fusion voting, which allows candidates to run under multiple party designations on general election ballots (and which is expressly forbidden in state law), said yesterday afternoon that the New Jersey Supreme Court had declined to hear their case after an appellate court ruled against them earlier this year.

“We continue to believe that voters have the constitutional right to vote for the candidates of their choice on the party lines that best reflect their values, candidates have the right to run on the ballot lines of their choice, and political parties have the right to nominate the candidates of their choice,” Richard Wolfe, one of the pro-fusion voting movement’s leaders, said in a statement. “The deprivation of these rights threatens our democracy and discourages voter participation.”

The fusion voting battle dates back to the 2022 midterm elections, when then-Rep. Tom Malinowski attempted to run as both a Democrat and the nominee of the newly created “Moderate Party.” Secretary of State Tahesha Way, obeying 1922 state law dictating that candidates can run under only one party affiliation, turned him down multiple times.




https://newjerseyglobe.com/judiciary/n-j-supreme-court-wont-hear-fusion-voting-case/