On Sunday, March 17, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said he believes New Jersey’s discriminatory ballot format in primaries is unconstitutional, and therefore he won’t let the state intervene in the lawsuit to defend that ballot format. This leaves it to attorneys for most of New Jersey’s counties to defend the law. See this story.

Governor Phil Murphy says he believes the law is constitutional. The case, Kim v Hanlon, 3:24cv-1098, has a hearing on Monday, March 18, before U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi.

All but two New Jersey counties use the same discriminatory ballot format in the general election. The Democratic and Republican Parties have party columns of their own, and their names are prominently at the head of those columns. But all other candidates, independents and the nominees of minor parties, are squeezed helter-skelter into other columns that are labelled “Nomination by Petition.” If the primary ballot access ballot format is held unconstitutional, it should be possible to get reform for the general election ballot format also. Thanks to David Sturrock for the link.

On March 7, the Idaho House passed HB 652 by a vote of 49-20. It lets petition signers remove their signatures from the petition, for up to five months past the time the deadline for submitting the signatures. The sponsor is Representative James Petzke (R-Meridian). A similar law in Florida was held to violate the Florida Constitution in 2010. Browning v Florida Hometown Democracy, 29 So. 3d 1053.

On March 14, three New Jersey election law professors filed this amicus brief in Kim v Hanlon, 3:24cv-1098. This is the case about the New Jersey ballot format in primary elections. Except in two counties, these ballots give the candidate who is supported by the party a far superior spot on the ballot. The law professors formally are neutral, but the information they present is strongly in favor of the plaintiff-candidates who are suing the state.

The case has an oral argument on Monday, March 18.