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Lawmakers eye reform after slow trickle of 2021 election results
The glacial reveal of results from New Jersey’s latest general election has left lawmakers dissatisfied and with a growing appetite for reform. A prohibition on counting mail-in ballots before Election Day, uncertainty around the number of uncounted ballots, and a days-long grace period for late-arriving mail votes have made Election Day seem like election week […]
Overseas voting bill advances with new amendments
A Senate panel advanced a measure Monday allowing New Jerseyans living overseas to cast ballots in a greater number of local and state races, while absent Democratic lawmakers and abstentions blocked the paths of two of the committee’s other measures. The bill allowing overseas voters to cast ballots in state, federal, and some local elections […]
GOP wins give Democrats slimmest Assembly majority in nearly two decades
Democratic Assembly incumbents in the 11th Legislative District will lose re-election to two Republican challengers after provisional ballots did little to cut the GOP candidates’ narrow leads. The result in that Monmouth County district — the final set of races to be decided since Election Day — means Democrats will go into the new legislative […]
Senate Democrats pick Scutari for president in symbolic vote
Senate Democrats picked Nicholas Scutari as their next president in a symbolic vote Friday, the Judiciary Committee chairman left unopposed after Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) backed out of the race. Scutari, also the Union County Democratic chairman, will need to win a formal vote at the chamber’s reorganization in early January to become New Jersey’s […]
Senate panel to consider letting overseas residents vote in state, local races
State senators will consider a bill Monday that would allow New Jerseyans living abroad to cast ballots in certain elections. The measure, which cleared the Assembly in party-line votes in June, would allow U.S. citizens living overseas to vote in state and federal elections if they lived and were last eligible to vote in New […]
Margins remain tight in two N.J. districts more than a week after election
More than a week after Election Day, Assembly races in Monmouth County’s 11th Legislative District remain too close to call, but the consistently broad margins in South Jersey’s 8th District suggest Republican candidates are likely to emerge victorious there. In almost all of the races, Republicans are in the lead, and results in their favor […]
Sweeney concedes stunning loss to Republican Durr
Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney conceded his stunning loss to Republican Ed Durr on Wednesday, blaming his defeat on a Republican wave that swept him, his running mates, and a handful of other Democrats out of office. Durr, meanwhile, celebrated his unlikely win at a press conference in Turnersville, saying he was motivated to run […]
Scutari, Cryan election law reform bills get Assembly counterparts
Two separate Senate bills that would radically alter how candidates report campaign contributions each saw Assembly counterparts introduced Monday. The measures, sponsored separately in the upper chamber by Sens. Joe Cryan (D-Union) and Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), would each require political candidates and committees to report campaign donations on a rolling basis. Existing law requires candidates […]
N.J. bill would create drug price control panel
A Senate panel advanced a bill over the objections of business groups Monday that would create a public board with the ability to cap prescription drug prices. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), would create a board with regulatory powers not yet seen in New Jersey. […]
Body camera, telehealth bills get conditional veto from Murphy
Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed a bill Monday that would allow police officers to review body-worn camera footage before writing reports, removing an amendment that would permit suspects and witnesses to review the same footage. The measure saw considerable opposition from transparency and criminal justice reform advocates, who warned the bill would allow cops to […]
Child care, mental health among Assembly’s lame-duck priorities
The Assembly will seek to expand child care and mental health services during the upcoming lame-duck session, with campaign finance reform and other transparency measures under consideration, Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) said Thursday. “We are committed to investing in child care,” he said. “And we recognize the issues like mental health that are critically important […]
Sweeney loses re-election, upending Trenton power structure
This article was updated with comment from Senate President Steve Sweeney at 2:17 p.m. Senate President Steve Sweeney has lost his bid for a seventh term, the Associated Press projected Thursday, ending a 20-year career in the Legislature that saw him become a dominant force in New Jersey politics. Sweeney, a Gloucester County Democrat, was […]