As previously noted, New Jersey holds two statewide partisan general elections in the next few weeks. Voters vote on October 16 for U.S. Senate, and then on November 5 for Governor and legislature. The two elections would both have been on October 16 if Governor Chris Christie had not vetoed AB 4237 last month. As a result of his veto, election administrators are spending $12,000,000 that would have been saved if the two elections had been on the same day.
Rob Richie of Fairvote has this article about this situation on Salon. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
If New Jersey used a Top 2 open primary with the primary a short time before the general election, they could have added the special senate election to the regular primary.
It is fundamentally wrong that you can have a senator die coincident with the regular primary, and manage to get in both a special primary and special election prior to the regular general election.
In addition if a senator over the age of 70 dies in office, any accumulated campaign funds and/or his estate should be used to pay for elections to choose a successor.
Congress should also require a special election for Representative or Senator to be held within 45 days of a vacancy, avoiding the type of chicanery that occurred when Barack Obama resigned his senate seat.
“In addition if a senator over the age of 70 dies in office, any accumulated campaign funds and/or his estate should be used to pay for elections to choose a successor.”
Radical statism alert. Especially with the latter part of that statement. So you’re suggesting senators should just be encouraged to resign shortly before death? Because that’s what would really happen to avoid this new death tax. If you don’t like old guys in office, why not just have a cutoff like many states do for their judges? For example, anyone over 70/75 cannot run for another term.
If voters weren’t so easily manipulated, this kind of thing probably wouldn’t happen.