[Consort]

Can the Jersey legislature do the same thing that the NJSC just did?

[D-fendr]

Sure. But they might not be as gutsy to change the law to allow a party to change candidates after the voting has begun.

That might smell too much even for New Jersey legislators.

[D-fendr]

You do raise another interesting point:

Judges are supposed to interpret the law based on the legislator's intent. Would be interesting to here from NJ legislators that this was, ahem, not quite their intent.

[steveegg]

Can the Jersey legislature do the same thing that the NJSC just did?

That becomes a timing issue. As the balloting process has started, ANY change in the 2002 NJ Senate election rules by ANY authority (including Congress) would violate the equal-protection and ex-post-facto clauses of the Constitution. In short, they could have done this (or specifically enabled the Jersey Supreme Idiots or any other body they wished) between 9/16 and the mailing of the first absentee ballot. As they failed to do so, the ballot should be restored to the condition it was on 9/29 (i.e. the Torch on the ballot as the Democratic candidate, Lautenberg not on the ballot but able to run a write-in campaign).

[Tennessean4Bush]

Can the Jersey legislature do the same thing that the NJSC just did?

Yes, but it could only apply to future elections.

[rstevens]

They can, but not until this election is over. Federal laws prohibits any change to election laws in the midst of an election.

[Congressman Billybob]

Not only can the NJ Legislature change the deadline rules after the fact, it did do so just a year ago. The deadline had passed, but the legislature wrote a law to extend the deadline. In the extended time, Governor diFrancesco dropped out of the race for serious ethical problems and was replaced by Rep. Franks, who then got diFrancesco's campaign war chest.

Bret Schundler sued to stop last year's switcheroo, but was denied by the same NJ SC. (I was involved in that litigation.)

Last year's switcheroo and corruption scandel involved Republicans. This year's one involves Democrats. What is it about New Jersey that leads inevitably to corruption and deliberate flaunting of the law?

Congressman Billybob

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