New Jersey will fill congressional vacancies more quickly under legislation Gov. Phil Murphy signed Thursday.
The law was introduced after two House members died in 2024 and the 9th District seat of Rep. Bill Pascrell went unfilled for more than four months because state law didn’t provide for filling a vacancy within six months of its expiration.
The changes won’t affect the seat vacated by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in the 11th District, covering parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties. A special primary on Feb. 5 will determine the Democratic and Republican nominees. The victor of the April 16 election will fill the term through Jan. 3, 2027.
Voting is underway in that election, in which 13 Democrats are vying in a district likely to stay blue. Only one Republican filed. More than 66,000 mail-in ballots have been sent and almost 12,000 returned, three-quarters of them by Democrats.
State Democratic leaders have urged the filling of seats as quickly as possible, given the House’s thin margin Republican majority.
“Securing a consistent voice for New Jersey’s congressional districts is critical to making sure our government is working for every New Jerseyan,” Murphy said in a statement. A delay occurred after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in April 2024 because Murphy didn’t want to call for an election prior to memorial services. Rep. LaMonica McIver was elected Sept. 18, or 147 days after Payne’s death.
The new law requires the governor to issue a writ of election within 10 days of the vacancy. The law also allows the governor to fill a seat that becomes vacant at least 135 days before the term’s end. That’s how much time was remaining in Pascrell’s term when he died, but law didn’t provide for a special election for a temporary replacement. Vacancies from 135-179 days prior to a term’s end will be filled at the general election, with the parties choosing their candidates via county committee. A vacancy should be filled within 153 days.
“When a U.S. House seat becomes vacant, hundreds of thousands of people are left without a representative to advocate for their district’s specific needs.,” said Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Mercer), a prime sponsor of the bill. “The way New Jersey’s current system is set up, seats could be left empty for upwards of a year, which is completely unacceptable.”
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