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Ballot access requirements for political parties in New Jersey
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Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.
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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in New Jersey, see this article.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes: Title 19 of the New Jersey Permanent Statutes
The New Jersey statutes define a political party as "a party which, at the election held for all of the members of the General Assembly next preceding the holding of any primary election held pursuant to this Title, polled for members of the General Assembly at least 10% of the total vote cast in this State."[1]
Certification
In order to qualify as a certified political party in New Jersey, candidates with the party designation must receive at least 10% of the total number of votes cast in the preceding election for members of the New Jersey General Assembly.[2]
Candidates who file a petition with a designation must state in no more than three words the designation of the party or principles which they represent. The petition must also request that the names of the candidates and their party/principle designations be printed upon the general election ballot.[3]
A party that meets the above requirements will be recognized by the state. A party may then nominate candidates via primary elections. A party must continue to meet the above stated vote thresholds in order to maintain qualified status.[4]
Political parties
As of May 2024, there were two officially recognized political parties in New Jersey. These are listed in the table below. [5]
| Party | Website link | By-laws/platform link |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of New Jersey | Link | Party by-laws |
| Republican Party of New Jersey | Link | Party by-laws |
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in New Jersey
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in New Jersey
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of New Jersey
- Republican Party of New Jersey
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Justia, "NJ Rev Stat § 19:1-1 (2024)," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "NJ Rev Stat § 19:12-1 (2024)," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "NJ Rev Stat § 19:13-4 (2024)," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "NJ Rev Stat § 19:5-1 (2024)," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Political Party Affiliation Declaration Form," accessed May 2, 2024
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