The New Jersey Monitor reports that the state’s highest court has denied an application to review a lower court’s decision holding that the state’s ban on cross-nomination (fusion) is constitutional. The decision is a blow for the recent push to relegalize fusion orchestrated by the Center for Ballot Freedom. The Moderate Party argued that the ban on fusion violated its freedom of speech, association, assembly, and equal protection under New Jersey’s constitution.
“We continue to believe that voters have the constitutional right to vote for the candidates of their choice on the party lines that best reflect their values, candidates have the right to run on the ballot lines of their choice, and political parties have the right to nominate the candidates of their choice,” said Richard Wolfe, one of the party’s founders. “The deprivation of these rights threatens our democracy and discourages voter participation.”
In the interest of full disclosure, an amicus brief was filed on my behalf in this case, and I am a member of the Center for Ballot Freedom’s Advisory Board.
