Bill > S3994

This bill modifies the number of signatures required for candidates to be placed on various election ballots in New Jersey, including primary, general, nonpartisan municipal, and school elections. The legislation increases the signature requirements across different levels of electoral districts, ranging from statewide to individual election districts. For statewide nominations, the bill raises the required aggregate signatures from 800 to 2,000, and for congressional district candidates, it increases signatures from 200 to 500. The bill introduces a graduated signature requirement system based on municipal population sizes, with specific thresholds for municipalities of different population ranges. For school board elections, the minimum number of petition signers is increased from 10 to 25. Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of State to publish nominating petition forms by January 1 of each election year, and provides a provision that petition signatures collected using forms published before the act's effective date will still be valid. The changes aim to standardize and potentially make it slightly more challenging for candidates to qualify for ballot access, while providing clear guidelines for signature requirements across different types of elections and municipality sizes.

Government Affairs

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S3994