SENATE, No. 993

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MARCH 18, 1996

By Senator BUBBA

An Act concerning the chairmen of county committees of political parties and amending R.S.19:5-3.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. R.S.19:5-3 is amended to read as follows:

    19:5-3. The members of the county committees of political parties shall be elected [annually] at the primary for the general election in the manner provided in this Title for the selection of party candidates to be voted for at the general election by voters of a municipality at such intervals as shall be provided in the bylaws of the county committee or otherwise. The county committee shall consist of one male and one female member from each unit of representation in the county. The male receiving the highest number of votes among the male candidates and the female receiving the highest number of votes among the female candidates shall be declared elected. Members of the county committee shall actually reside in the districts or units which they respectively represent. The county committee shall determine by its bylaws the units into which the county shall be divided for purpose of representation in the county committee.

    The members of the county committee of each of the political parties shall take office on the first Saturday following their election, on which day the terms of all members of such committees theretofore elected shall terminate. The annual meeting of each county committee shall be held on the first Tuesday following the primary election, except that when such meeting day falls on a legal holiday then the said meeting shall be held on the day following, and when such meeting day falls on the day of a municipal runoff election within the county then said meeting may be held on the day following, at an hour and place to be designated in a notice in writing to be mailed by the chairman [of the outgoing county committee] to each member and member-elect[, at which annual meeting the]. The members of such committee shall elect some suitable person as chairman who shall be a resident of such county [to hold office for 1 year, or until his successor is elected]. Whenever the selection of a chairman is not by the unanimous consent of the members of the committee but is instead to be decided by an election contest involving two or more candidates, the vote in that election shall be by secret ballot. The members shall also elect a vice-chairman of the opposite sex of the chairman [to hold office for 1 year or until his or her successor is elected] and the vice-chairman shall perform all duties required of him or her by law and the constitution and bylaws of such committee. Such committee shall have power to adopt a constitution and bylaws for its proper government. The chairman shall preside at all meetings of the committee and shall perform all duties required of him by law and the constitution and bylaws of such committee.

    When a member of a county committee ceases to be a resident of the district or unit from which elected, a vacancy on the county committee shall exist. A member of a county committee of any political party may resign his office to the committee of which he is a member, and upon acceptance thereof by the committee a vacancy shall exist. A vacancy in the office of a member of the county committee of any political party, caused by death, resignation, failure to elect or otherwise, shall be filled for the unexpired term by the municipal committee of the municipality wherein the vacancy occurs, if there is such committee, and if not, by the remaining members of the county committee of such political party representing the territory in the county in which such vacancy occurs.

    The chairman of the county committee of the several political parties shall before April 1 in a year in which county committee members are to be elected, certify to the clerk of each municipality in the county the unit of representation in such municipality, together with the enumeration of the election district or districts embraced within such unit.

(cf: P.L.1980, c.105, s.3)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately .

STATEMENT

    The purpose of this bill is to provide that whenever the selection of a chairman of the county committee of a political party is not by the unanimous consent of the members of that committee but is instead to be decided by an election contest involving two or more candidates, the vote in that election shall be by secret ballot.

    The bill also amends R.S.19:5-3 to eliminate the requirement that members and officers of county committees of political parties shall serve one-year terms and to make clear that notice of the annual meetings of such committees must be provided by the chairmen thereof to each member and member-elect of those committees.

    These latter changes have been made to R.S.19:5-3 to conform it to a decision of the New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, in a consent order which invalidated part of the statute. The State court's action was based on Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee, 109 S. Ct. 1013 (1989) in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated, on First Amendment grounds, certain California laws regulating the internal affairs of political parties.

Requires election of chairman of county political committee to be by secret ballot in certain circumstances.