On February 16, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued an opinion in In re: Contest of November 8, 2011 General Election of Office of the New Jersey General Assembly, A58-11. By a vote of 4-3, the Court upheld a challenge to the eligibility of Gabriela Mosquera to be seated in the lower house of the legislature, because she had not lived in the district for a full year. The New Jersey Constitution requires candidates for the legislature to meet that duration of residency requirement. Mosquera argued that the New Jersey Constitution violates the U.S. Constitution, but that argument did not prevail.
Mosquera, a Democratic Party nominee, won the election last November, and she wasn’t challenged until after the election. However, by now she has lived in the district a full year. When a legislative seat is vacant in New Jersey, that seat is filled by the party that won the last election for that seat. The Democratic Party is expected to appoint her to fill the vacancy. She will then be required to run in November, 2012, to retain her seat.
Each State happens to be a NATION-State — for defining its Electors and its public officers – subject to any U.S.A. Const limits.
1776 DOI last paragraph
1777 Art. Confed.
1783 U.S.A.-Brit Peace Treaty
1787 Const Art. I, Sec. 10 and Art VII.
Interesting ruling. A federal district court in 2001 had ruled the NJ constitution durational residency requirement to violate equal protection, and the ruling had not been appealed. The majority today, essentially it didn’t matter what the federal court had said, but that they hoped someone would appeal the case to resolve the conflict between the state and federal courts. The dissent said NJ should only apply the ruling prospectively, and besides Mosquera got the most votes.
But the majority also ruled that Mosquera was the “incumbent” at the time of the vacancy, and that therefore her party could appoint her replacement.
This was because their decision had rendered her election null and void, which apparently doesn’t mean “as if it never happened”, but rather she must have been elected in order for her election to have been voided.