Politics & Government

Counties: Show Me The Money For Special Elections

Special elections for New Jersey's vacant U.S. Senate seat could cost at least $24 million and some county governments want the state to pony up in advance.

While the state's highest court killed off a challenge to the special election to fill New Jersey's empty U.S. Senate seat, the Christie administration may be facing other hurdles as counties line up for state money needed to pull off the October polling.

Gov. Chris Christie earlier this month called for a special election to be held Oct. 16 to fill the seat left vacant by Sen. Frank Lautenberg's death. The move survived two court rulings in a Democratic challenge to Christie’s authority and on Thursday the state Supreme Court put the matter to rest, saying it would not hear the challenge.

But there’s a lingering issue of money.

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New Jersey’s 21 counties are realizing there’s little in their coffers to pull off a primary election and two general elections this year. And they want assurances from the state that they’re going to be paid, promptly and in full, for any expenditure they couldn’t have possibly planned for.

"This could have horrible consequences,’" Bergen County Freeholder Chairman David Ganz said. "It will affect every county in the state, unless they have money to pay for these elections.’"

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The county’s 7-member freeholder board – split 4 Democrats to 3 Republicans -- unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday authorizing its attorneys to file a complaint, asking the state Superior Court to ensure the state reimburses the county before the end of the calendar year for the estimated $3.2 million cost of holding the elections.

Ganz said on Thursday that the cost of a regular November general election had been built into the current budget. But no one could have anticipated a special election just 20 days before the regular election, and the money simply isn’t available, he said.

If the state does not reimburse the county for its costs before the end of the calendar year, a series of fiscal dominoes could fall, leaving the county no choice but to bond for an emergency appropriation, Ganz said.

“It would just cause a financial mess,’’ Ganz said. “We just don’t have a spare $3.2 million laying around.’’

Bergen is not alone.

Union County freeholders last week also said they want answers from the state on when reimbursement is coming. The panel approved $850,000 for the special primary election, to be held Aug. 13, but balked at moving any money toward the Oct. 16 polling until they had assurances from the state that they would be repaid. 

"I don’t think anyone objects to the special primary," Freeholder Christopher Hudak said Thursday. “We should be able to select a candidate for the regular election. It’s what’s fair and I think everyone understands and respects the process. But when you talk about spending 12-plus million on an election just weeks before the regular election, it’s a complete waste of taxpayer money.”

In Monmouth County, the freeholder board there is readying a resolution for its June 27 meeting asking the state to provide the money for the election up front, officials said.

"These are tough budgetary times," Laura Kirkpatrick, county spokeswoman, said. "And we would like to have that money on the front end.’"

But where the money comes from is currently murky, state officials have said.

State Senate Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo (D-36) told the Star Ledger that there is no money for the special elections in the new budget, which takes effect July 1. Christie “must figure out how to pay for the election himself,’’ Sarlo told the Ledger.

Repeated attempts to get comment from Christie's office on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Pending Bills

And there are measures in the state legislature seeking to derail the special election entirely.

State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-15) has authored two bills aimed at cutting out the estimated $24 million expense of the extra primary and general elections.

The first, S-2857, would eliminate the option of calling for a special election in cases where a seat is vacated, requiring instead that the governor appoint someone from the same party to hold the seat until the next scheduled general election.

The second, which Turner calls “Plan B,’’ would move the November general election to Oct. 16 instead.

“We’re hearing from so many counties who are indicating that it will cost a great deal more in terms of logistics staffs overtime,” Turner said Thursday. “We’re trying to rectify the problem of wasting taxpayers’ money.’’

A vote on both bills is expected Monday in the state Senate.

Another is pending in the state Assembly, sponsored by Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-6). The bill, A4249, would give voters the option of casting ballots early for the Nov. 5 general election during the Oct. 16 polling.

It’s a bill supported by NJ Citizen Action, a government watchdog group that filed a brief in support of the legal challenge to the special election struck down Thursday.

“We don’t think (the bill) a perfect solution, but it takes care of some of the issues,” Ann Vardeman, of NJ Citizen Action, said.

Even if all the bills passed through the Legislature, they still require Christie’s signature and Turner is under no illusion that her bills will make it past the governor’s desk. But she said she’s doing what she can to save taxpayers’ money.

“I don’t know where we’re getting all this extra money,’’ she said. “It makes no sense at a time when we’re cutting funding for services that we can suddenly afford $24 million for these elections.’’ 

Patch Editor Edward Van Embden contributed to this report.


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