( - promoted by huntsu)
Update [Juan]: Mercer County Democratic Chair Rich McClellan tells Blue Jersey: "Just for clarification purposes, as Mercer County Chair, I will be making no request for preferential treatment of any single candidate on the Mercer County Democratic ballot even though I have personally declared my support for the Clinton candidacy." It's expected that a random drawing will determine placement on the ballot.
Update 2 [Juan]: I'm not a lawyer, but this seems to be pretty clearly illegal. On May 5, 2005 a mid-level state court ruled in Schundler v Donovan that for primary ballots, all candidates should be given an equal shot to win a lottery for the best ballot position and that the state should use a method that "requires all the candidates to begin from the same position."
Update 3 [Juan]: Thurman Hart at NJ Voices:In direct conflict of DNC rules, the State Committee is trying to ensure that Hillary Clinton gets to head up the majority of ballots in New Jersey for the Democratic primary. In an effort to cut off protests from the Obama camp, someone stayed up late at night dreaming up a rule that would give Obama a few ballot-top positions as well.
Update 4 [Juan]: A statement from Mark Alexander of the Obama campaign:"The Obama campaign urges all County Clerks to conduct a fair and even-handed draw to determine ballot placement for the presidential candidates in New Jersey's February 5 primary. Our campaign is dedicated to empowering people in our country-the power belongs to the people, and not to the elite few. Every aspect of our democratic process should respect the people and must flow from principles of equality. We hope that County Clerks will follow an impartial process for ballot construction that respects these principles of equality." Update 5 (last one) [Juan]: The DSC is now requesting that ballot placement be by "open draw".
Last year, the Democratic National Committee put together a little something called "Delegate Selection Rules" for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to ensure a fair and equitable process nationwide. Among the more obvious requirements is Rule 17-B: Any individual or group of Democrats may sponsor or endorse a slate of candidates for convention delegates. But no slate may, by virtue of such endorsement, receive a preferential place on a delegate selection ballot or be publicly identified on the ballot as the official Democratic Party organization slate....
Obvious? Not in New Jersey.
 Here in the Garden State, our Democratic State Committee's attorney has submitted a letter (right) to the AG's office requesting that ballots statewide not only place the county Chairs' choice first, but in those counties where no endorsement has been made, to hold a two-step process to determine ballot position:
1- a drawing between only Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to see which of their delegates will receive the first position, and which will be second, and
2- a second drawing among all the rest to see whose delegates will be placed in the remaining positions, third and below.
Some county Chairs are even interpreting the DSC proposal to mean that the Clinton and Obama delegates will automatically be entitled to the first two ballot positions in every county.
Absurd? Yes. Legal? Almost certainly not. Fair? Absolutely not.
Putting aside the question of whether county Chairs should ever have the power to unilaterally decide ballot position (they shouldn't) or to have their official endorsement appear on the ballot (most states have outlawed this practice), the really undemocratic part of the DSC's proposed plan is the elevation of Clinton and Obama to preferred ballot status statewide.
That plan clearly violates both the letter and spirit of the DNC's delegate selection plan, and puts our state's delegation at risk of disqualification.
And that wouldn't be democratic at all.
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