NJ Rallies Against The Line
We’re rallying to #AbolishTheLine and bring true democracy to New Jersey. If you’re in, go here and find the rally in your county to join us: https://www.facebook.com/New-Jersey-Rallies-to-Abolish-the-Line-108815337386620/
Rallies scheduled already:
- March 4th: Camden County (Sponsored by Cooper River Indivisible & South Jersey Progressive Democrats) Sign up for Camden County here: https://secure.everyaction.com/RSLYyryeCEKmVLaTBiGfuw2
- March 4th: Cape May County (Cape May County Indivisible)
- March 7th: Hudson County
- March 9th: Burlington County (CRI & SJPD)
- March 9th: Monmouth County (Our Revolution Monmouth)
- March 11th: Middlesex County (Central Jersey Progressive Democrats)
- March 11th: Union County (NJ Progressive Democrats of Union County)
Don’t know what The Line is? Read on:
The ballot line: it’s part of the anti-democratic measures built into in New Jersey’s electoral system. For the uninitiated, “The Line” is the practice of designing ballots so that political-boss-approved candidate all appear on the left side of the ballot in a single column. They’re all neat and tidy in every office, from the highest (President, this year) to the lowest (County Committees).
With the emergence of Bernie Sanders, though, suddenly the Democratic establishment in New Jersey is worried. In the past, they’ve used The Line to discipline officeholders and punish those who start getting a little too independent. And they’ve used The Line to insulate themselves from progressive challengers in primaries. With Sanders looking like the prohibitive favorite for the nomination, the establishment suddenly understands why The Line is a bad idea. Bernie is likely to bracket with progressive candidates up and down the ballot, and his presence in our column would likely result in The Line, for once, aiding progressives.
So of course they want to change the rules. Proposals are flying around to disconnect presidential candidates from The Line. Basically, you’d vote for Bernie or Biden or Warren or Buttigieg or whoever in a block by themselves, and then you’d be encouraged by the ballot design to vote for every political boss-endorsed candidate from Senate to Committee.
They know why The Line is wrong. They see it. But they want to preserve their power, so they want to change the rules. This isn’t democracy, and it isn’t acceptable. The Line should go for every race on every ballot.
And we’re doing something about it. Join a rally all over New Jersey in the coming weeks to say we want true democracy. No lines, no phantom candidates, just true, representative democracy. Let the chips fall where they may. Incumbents will still win all the time. Parties will still be strong and powerful adversaries to upstart movements like ours. But the ballot design will not allow our choices to be dictated by unelected power brokers.
Join us! Fight for democracy! More here: https://www.facebook.com/New-Jersey-Rallies-to-Abolish-the-Line-108815337386620/