On January 27, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments in In re: Contest of November 8, 2011 Election, no. 58-11. The issue is whether Gabriela Mosquera, the Democratic nominee in the 4th district, should be seated in the Assembly. She was elected to the Assembly last year, and afterwards her opponent challenged her qualifications. Mosquera admits she has not lived in the district for a full year before the election. Ironically, she has now lived in the district for a full year, so if the Court rules that the election should be annulled, but if it also rules that the Democratic Party may name a replacement, the Democratic Party intends to choose her for the vacancy.

New Jersey does not hold special elections for legislative vacancies. The party that won the last election for a particular seat is entitled to choose a replacement. See this story about the hearing, which seems to indicate that there are some Justices who feel strongly one way, and other Justices who feel strongly the other way, and some Justices who didn’t give a clue as to their thoughts.

As an aside which has nothing to do with the controversy, Mosquera is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Ecuador.