Bill > S1585

Introduced Session

This bill establishes a ranked-choice voting procedure for primary and general elections to elect candidates to the offices of Governor, New Jersey Senate, New Jersey General Assembly, United States Senate, and United States House of Representatives, and for presidential primary elections and general elections for electors of candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States. Ranked-choice voting is an election method in which voters rank candidates in order of their preference, the ballots are counted in rounds, and the votes or fractions of votes are distributed to candidates according to the preferences marked on each ballot. The bill requires the ballot to be designed to allow voters to assign a ranking order to each qualified candidate on the ballot for such offices, including write-in candidates. In the event that the voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate a ballot containing a number of rankings equal to the number of qualified candidates, the ballot is permitted to be designed to allow a voter to rank the maximum number allowed by the voting equipment, but not less than six candidates. Under the bill, single-winner elections to the offices of Governor, New Jersey Senate, United States Senate, and United States House of Representatives, and presidential primaries and general elections for electors of candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, would be tabulated in rounds. Each ballot counts as one vote for the highest-ranked candidate on that ballot. If a candidate reaches the election threshold of 50 percent of the votes plus one, that candidate is elected and the tabulation is complete. If two or fewer continuing candidates remain, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is defeated, the candidate with the greatest number of votes is elected, and the tabulation is complete. However, if more than two continuing candidates remain, the continuing candidate with the fewest number of votes is defeated, and a new round of counting begins until a candidate reaches the election threshold. For multi-winner elections to the office of member of the New Jersey General Assembly, which include two members elected from each election district, the bill establishes a tabulation procedure that involves the transfer of vote fractions. Under the bill, if in the initial tabulation the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to two (which is the number of offices to be filled for the New Jersey General Assembly in the legislative district), then all continuing candidates are elected and the tabulation is complete. If not, a series of tabulation rounds would proceed sequentially until candidates are elected by reaching the election threshold of 33 percent of the votes plus one. If the sum of the number of elected candidates and the number of continuing candidates is equal to three (the sum of one and the number of offices to be elected), then the candidate with the fewest votes is defeated, all other continuing candidates are elected, and the tabulation is complete. However, if at least one continuing candidate has more votes than the election threshold, then each such candidate is elected, and each ballot counting for an elected candidate is assigned a "transfer value" so that the candidate's surplus votes (beyond the election threshold) are distributed to the next ranked continuing candidate on those ballots. If, after these steps, no candidate is elected, then the continuing candidate with the fewest votes is defeated, and a new round of counting begins until the positions are filled as the remaining candidates reach the election threshold. The bill directs the Secretary of State to issue guidelines and promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the ranked-choice voting procedures established by the bill. The bill would take effect immediately, but would remain inoperative until the January 1st following 12 months after the Secretary of State officially certifies that all voting machines used in this State have the capability to support ranked-choice voting. However, the bill's provisions concerning elections to the office of Governor would be implemented if the voters approve an amendment to the State Constitution authorizing ranked-choice for that office.

Committee Categories

Linda Greenstein (D)*,  Andrew Zwicker (D)*,  Vin Gopal (D),  Raj Mukherji (D),  Shirley Turner (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document