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A "Battle Royale" is about to begin -

A Battle Royale is about to commence – and it will forever affect the integrity of your ballot.

 

Thanks to a victory by our organization in Judge Mary Jacobson’s NJ Superior Courtroom in Trenton last Fall, your ballot may look very different, this year – if the clerks follow the law.

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NEITHER the Democrat NOR the Republican Party met the required statute to be “gifted” preferential ballot placement, as they have received in the past.

Such placement is earned at each primary election, by demonstrating sufficient support of the voting public.  That support is measured in a very specific way.

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Each party must “poll” – that is to say that each party must turn out voters equal to 10% of the total votes cast for NJ Assembly in the prior November’s election. 

The parties “qualify” for a State-funded primary by collecting at least 10% of the ballots cast in November – after which, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno then issues a “Certification of Political Parties”, affirming which political organizations met the lawful requirements at the polls, and are therefore eligible to conduct a primary election on the taxpayers’ dime.

That certification may be viewed HERE:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/233968018/2013-Certification-of-Political-Parties

The parties, having conducted their primaries, must re-qualify by a sufficient turn-out in order to enjoy the preferential ballot position in the November election, positions granted to them as almost a foregone conclusion for years.

What is the number of voters who had to show up in June for each party to maintain “major party” status?

372,197 VOTERS

Doesn’t sound like much, does it?  After all, it’s STATE-WIDE.

So, how did they do?

Well, on June 3rd, the Democrats managed to cajole only 199,329 people to showing up to cast a ballot in the primary – 53.55% of the minimum required.

No dice. 

Another way to put that is only just over 5% of the people who showed up last NOVEMBER even bothered to show up this June.

The Democrats don’t qualify for a ballot column, and, by the law passed by New Jersey’s Legislature, they are to be treated just like individual “nomination by petition” candidates. 

Oh, by the way – as they held a State-funded primary, they’re specifically not entitled to a “bracket request”.

“Bracket Request?”

I’ll explain that in a moment.

You would think this would be great news for the Republicans…and it would, except that they managed to inspire only 152,686 people to go to the polls in June – That’s 46 thousand fewer voters than the Democrats!

That’s only 41.02% of what they were minimally required to receive.

IF you got a “41” on your math final, you’re probably headed to summer school.   No worries, though – your pal with the “55” would be right there with you.

These two parties have coerced, cajoled, and manipulated the game in their favor for decades.  Now, when they stumbled, someone was watching.  We were.

We proved in court last year that the standards weren’t being met, and sued all 21 County Clerks successfully.  Judge Jacobson ruled that the standard must be complied with, and she threw out the argument used in the past that a voter casting a ballot for Governor, Lt. Governor, Assembly person 1, Assembly person 2, Senator, Mayor, Councilperson, Freeholder, County Clerk, and Dog Catcher is not, in fact, TEN VOTERS.   (Hence the “math summer school” analogy)

The County Clerks ALREADY KNOW that neither party qualifies for a column this year.  Why?  We told them.  They are relying on being “procedurally unaware” of the failure of both parties to meet the standard, because Lt. Governor Guadagno’s office is delaying certifying the results of the Statewide primary election.   (although her certification is not a requirement – the County Clerks know the total ballots cast in THEIR OWN COUNTY, and we were kind enough to inform them of the totals reported.  The Lt. Governor is to provide her certification 86 Days before the election.  Last year, when she thought we weren’t paying attention, the certification was offered mid-July.  Now, they’re milking every last day out of the Statute, but they did the math wrong. 

According to the laws of New Jersey, the drawing for position is to take place 85 Days before the election – in fact, it is to take place at 3:00 p.m.  – the statute is THAT SPECIFIC.

 As 86 days before the election falls numerically on a Sunday, it must be given the prior Saturday, not Tuesday.  In the statute, 87 minus “Sunday” is 86, but 85 is never 86. 

Nice try.  Maybe they can carry her books to summer school.

Not only do the Clerks know this to be true (since they had to write checks to cover costs, as they LOST), Essex County Clerk, Chris Durkin, in a dignified appeal to the public in the Newark Star Ledger, agreed with our position – earning him no little scorn from the Pharisees of his own party.

His letter may be found HERE:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/190042951/Durkin-Letter

Now, to the dreaded “Bracket Request”… 

(Want to see a party boss wince?  Ask him what a bracket request is.)

Independent (“nomination by petition”) candidates, as guaranteed by their right of assembly, may associate on the ballot by making a formal request that they be “bracketed together”. 

In other words, they may request a column.  This is not allowed for the major parties – their primary DETERMINES their column…in fact, a candidate may not run in a primary and ALSO run as an independent for the same office.

Our organization qualifies for its own column in 17 of the 21 Counties.

That means that, if the Clerks actually follow the law, the only column that is legally allowed to appear on the mail-in ballots, the sample ballots, and in the voting booth belongs to us.

The ONLY one.

They’re so used to having it their own way, they can’t fathom that they’ve failed such a simple task…garnering a mere 10% support from among their own rank and file.

If some of them had their way, we would appear ON THE BACK of the ballot.  I wish that were a joke.

The parties’ attorneys have argued that the columns are not “preferential”, and, yet, the in-fighting over the “party line” in the primary can (and has) reach epic proportions.

In fact, there is evidence that in Burlington County in Congressional District Three, the party rank and file were bamboozled by their own leadership, who told members of their convention that “nominations could not be made from the floor, according to their “by-laws”.”

For that to have been true, the Burlington County Republican Organization would have had to actually HAD by-laws.  At that time, and at this writing, THEY DO NOT -largely, it would seem, because, if they did, they might actually have to follow them.

There is a lawsuit before the courts at this moment, specifically about this issue.  You can read it HERE:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/232608101/Germann-v-Layton-et-al-Docket-pending

Clearly, neither party has the grass roots support it once had.  YOU have a chance to make a real difference in the November Election.  There are qualified independents on the ballot, who wear no “party handcuffs”. 

If it applies in your district, show these clowns the door.

Frederick John LaVergne, “Democratic-Republican” for Congress, New Jersey Congressional District Three.   “Stand for what’s right, or settle for what’s left” – FJL 2014





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