Elections in New Jersey are authorized under Article II of the New Jersey State Constitution, which establishes elections for the governor, the lieutenant governor, and members of the New Jersey Legislature. Elections are regulated under state law, Title 19. The office of the New Jersey Secretary of State has a Division of Elections that oversees the execution of elections under state law (This used to be the New Jersey Attorney General). In addition, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is responsible for administering campaign financing and lobbying disclosure.
Between 1860 and 2024, the state voted Democratic 57% of the time. Traditionally not a swing state, it has voted Democratic in recent decades, as George H. W. Bush was the last Republican candidate for president to carry the state, in 1988. The congressional delegations have leaned Democratic since 1965, however, Republicans did hold a majority from 1995 to 1999. The delegation was evenly split 6-6 from 2013 to 2017, but after the 2018 elections, Democrats held 11 of the 12 seats, the largest seat share since 1912. Currently, they hold a 9–3 majority. The New Jersey Legislature has also switched hands over the years, and one house was evenly divided from 2002 to 2004, however, Democrats have gained ground and have controlled both chambers of the legislature since 2004. On the state level, Republicans are more competitive as the governorship has alternated between the two major parties since the election of Democrat Richard J. Hughes in 1961, with a succession of Republicans and Democrats serving as governor. New Jersey has had a Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and a Democratic Lieutenant Governor, Tahesha Way, who was appointed following the death of Sheila Oliver in 2023.New Jersey Governors. (n.d.). Retrieved May 09, 2010, from http://governors.rutgers.edu/NJ-index.htm#list Both of its senators have been Democrats since 1979, except brief periods with Republican appointees.
New Jersey is split almost down the middle between the New York City media market and Philadelphia media market, respectively the largest and fourth-largest markets in the nation. As a result, campaign budgets are among the largest in the country. In a 2020 study, New Jersey was ranked as the 16th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
Constitutional history
In 1776, the first Constitution of New Jersey was drafted. It was written during the Revolutionary War, and was created a basic framework for the state government. The Constitution granted the right of suffrage to women and black men who met certain property requirements. The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 allowed "all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money" to vote. This included blacks, spinsters, and widows; married women could not own property under the common law. The Constitution declared itself temporary, and it was to be void if there was reconciliation with Great Britain.Klinghoffer and Elkis. "The Petticoat Electors: Women's Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807." Journal of the Early Republic, 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.Connors, R. J. (1775). New Jersey's Revolutionary Experience [Pamphlet]. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Historical Commission. Both parties in elections mocked the other party for relying on "petticoat electors" and accused the other of allowing unqualified women to vote.
The second version of the New Jersey State Constitution was written in 1844. The Constitution provided the right of suffrage only to white males, removing it from women and black men. Some of the important components of the second State Constitution include the separation of the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The new constitution also provided a bill of rights. The people had the right to directly elect the governor.
The current 1947 state constitution reinforces the basic rights found in the United States Constitution, but also contains several unique provisions, such as regulations governing the operation of casinos. At 26,159 words,Number obtained through http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/lawsconstitution/constitution.asp . The number was determined with the Microsoft Word "Word Count" option. the document is slightly shorter than the average American state constitution (about 28,300 words).
Recent trends Gubernatorial election results Year Democratic Republican1953 53.2% 962,710 44.7% 809,0681957 54.6% 1,101,130 44.5% 897,3211961 50.4% 1,084,194 48.7% 1,049,2741965 57.4% 1,279,568 41.1% 915,996196938.5% 911,00359.7% 1,411,9051973 66.7% 1,414,613 31.9% 676,2351977 55.7% 1,184,564 41.8% 888,8801981 49.4% 1,144,202 49.5% 1,145,9991985 29.3% 578,402 69.6% 1,372,6311989 61.2% 1,379,937 37.2% 838,5531993 48.3% 1,210,031 49.3% 1,236,1241997 45.8% 1,107,968 46.9% 1,133,3942001 56.4% 1,256,853 41.7% 928,1742005 53.5% 1,224,551 43.0% 985,2712009 44.9% 1,087,731 48.4% 1,174,4452013 38.2% 809,978 60.2% 1,278,9322017 56.0% 1,203,110 41.9% 899,5832021 51.2% 1,339,471 48.0% 1,255,1852025 56.8% 1,890,610 42.5% 1,417,705
In national elections, New Jersey has recently leaned towards the national Democratic Party. For much of the 20th century, New Jersey was one of the most Republican states in the Northeast. It supported Republican presidential candidates from 1896 to 1988 all but seven times: 1912, Franklin Roosevelt's four wins in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944, as well as 1960 and 1964. It gave comfortable margins of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of 1948, 1968, and 1976.
However, the brand of Republicanism in New Jersey has historically been a moderate one. As the national party tilted more to the right, the state's voters became more willing to support Democrats at the national level. This culminated in 1992, when Bill Clinton narrowly carried the state, becoming the first Democrat to win it since 1964. Since then, Democrats have always carried the state with the only relatively close presidential elections being 2004 and 2024, decided by 7 and 6 points, respectively. Clinton won it handily in 1996, and Al Gore won it almost as easily in 2000. In the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Democrat Barack Obama carried the state by more than 15 percentage points. Hillary Clinton won it by over 14 points in 2016 and in the 2020 election, Joe Biden won the state by 16 points. Indeed, the 2004 and 2024 elections are the only elections in recent years where the race hasn't been called for the Democrats soon after the polls closed. As a result, at the presidential level, New Jersey is now considered part of the solid bloc of Democratic states in the Northeast referred to as the "blue wall".
The most recent victory by a Republican in a U.S. Senate race in the state was Clifford P. Case's reelection in 1972. Only Hawaii has had a longer period of exclusive Democratic victories in U.S. Senate races. The last Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was Jeffrey Chiesa, who was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor Chris Christie in 2013 after Democrat Frank Lautenberg died in office. Chiesa served four months in office and did not seek election in his own right.
After George H. W. Bush won the last Republican presidential victory in New Jersey in 1988, only one Republican has ever won more than 50% of the vote in any statewide New Jersey election, that being Chris Christie who was re-elected as governor in 2013 with 60% of the vote. As New Jersey is split almost down the middle between the New York City and Philadelphia television markets, advertising budgets for statewide elections are among the most expensive in the country.
Partisan strongholds The state's Democratic strongholds are generally the more urbanized northeastern, central, and southwestern counties along the New Jersey Turnpike. Counties with major cities are typically the most Democratic, Hudson County has Jersey City, Essex County has Newark, Union County has Elizabeth, Mercer County has Trenton, and Camden County has the city of Camden. Other counties that generally vote Democratic include the more suburban counties of Bergen, Middlesex, Burlington, and Somerset.
The state's more rural to suburban northwestern counties are Republican strongholds, namely mountainous Sussex, Hunterdon and Warren counties. The Jersey Shore along the coast also favor Republicans, notably Ocean, Monmouth, and Cape May counties. Salem County also is reliably Republican with its smaller, rural, and working-class population. In recent elections, Ocean County has been the most Republican in the state, as it is the only county in the state to consistently give Republicans over 60% of the vote.
Swing counties Some counties such as Morris County and Passaic County in the north have become swing counties in recent elections. Most of South Jersey remains electorally competitive and frequently sees voters split their tickets for candidates of different parties, such as in Atlantic County, Gloucester County, and Cumberland County.
In state-level elections, some of the reliably Democratic counties at the federal level are much more competitive for Republicans, particularly in Bergen, Burlington, Somerset, and Passaic counties. For instance, in the 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election, Democrats carried all five of those counties, but by less than half of the margin that they did in the 2020 presidential election.
Unaffiliated voters Unaffiliated is a status for registered voters in New Jersey. Those voters who do not specify a political party affiliation when they register to vote are listed as unaffiliated. Affiliated voters may change their status to unaffiliated or to another political party if they wish, although any such change must be filed with the state 55 days before the primary election. As of July 2020, there were 2.3 million unaffiliated voters in New Jersey, less than the number of registered Democrats but more than the number of registered Republicans. If a registered unaffiliated voter in NJ wishes to vote in a primary election, they may affiliate at any time, up to and including primary election day.
New Jersey is a closed primary state.Hazan and Rahat, 2010, p. 40-41. This means that only voters who affiliate with a political party may vote in that party's candidate selection process (i.e., the primary election). However, unaffiliated voters may declare their party affiliation up to and including the day of the primary election. Unaffiliated status does not affect participation in general elections.
County line The county line or party line refers to the first column of the ballot which includes candidates for federal, state, and local offices who have received the endorsement of the county party while non-endorsed candidates are listed in other columns.
Although enjoined in the 2024 Democratic primaries by a March 2024 federal court order from the practice, New Jersey is the only state to allow political parties to give preferential placement on primary election ballots to endorsed candidates.
The Democratic primary in the 2024 United States Senate election in New Jersey brought national media attention to the county line election practice. In March 2024, a New Jersey federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in Kim v. Hanlon, preventing the county clerks from following the practice as highly likely to be unconstitutional.
Only Sussex and Salem Counties do not use the county line in their ballot designs, though mail-in ballots in other counties also may not use it.
Impact