TRENTON - New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Wednesday signed into law A5886/S4664, revising the requirements for filling a U.S. House of Representatives seat following a vacancy. The revised requirements seek to eliminate previous challenges that have led to delays in electing a new representative.
“Securing a consistent voice for New Jersey’s Congressional districts is critical to making sure our government is working for every New Jerseyan,” Murphy said. “This law eliminates barriers to ensuring House seats are filled as quickly as possible without unnecessary confusion for voters or long periods without representation when a seat becomes vacant.”
Under the previous law the legal requirements for filling a House vacancy could result in lengthy delays that left New Jerseyans unrepresented for extended periods of time. It also did not allow the NJ Department of State to modify the numerous election deadlines, which led to significant administrative burdens as candidates and election officials struggled to meet those deadlines within the compressed time frames for special primary and special general elections (70-76 days and 64-70 days, respectively).
A5886/S4664 imposes new time constraints by requiring the governor to issue a Writ of Election within 10 days of the vacancy. It also requires the governor to issue a Writ of Election whenever there are at least 135 days remaining in the term. The governor was previously only required to issue a writ of election if there were six months remaining in the term at the time of the vacancy. The bill also clarifies that the governor may decide to issue a writ even if there are fewer than 135 days remaining in the term, clarifying previous ambiguity in the law.
The legislation also aims to prevent administrative burdens and voter confusion over election dates for vacant House seats by requiring the governor to designate the regular primary or general election day as the date for a special election whenever the special election falls within 45 days before the regular primary or general election day. The law also prevents a special election from being held in the 25 days following the regular primary or general election day.
In addition, A5886/S4664 clarifies the circumstances for a special primary or special general election. Under the legislation, when a House seat becomes vacant with at least 180 days remaining in the term, both a special primary and a special general election will be held (70-76 days after issuance of the writ and 64-70 days following the special primary election, respectively). When there are between 135 and 180 days remaining in the term, the special election will be held on the day of the regular general election, and the parties will select the candidates consistent with the requirement under previous law.
The primary sponsors of A5886/S4664 are Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill, Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis, Senator Andrew Zwicker, and Senator John McKeon.
