Could this be the end of the line? Literally?
Time will tell, but opponents of county lines have won an important legal victory.
On Tuesday, a New Jersey federal judge allowed a lawsuit to proceed that challenges the state’s long-standing system whereby partisan county organizations use bracketing and, according to the system’s critics, give local machines and elected incumbents a powerful electoral advantage. The lawsuit brought by a coalition of Leftists is in turn opposed by a coalition of Republican and Democrat county clerks.
“The Court recognizes the gravitas of its decision to allow this case to move forward. The undersigned does not take it lightly,” explained U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quaraishi. “However, it is the Court’s duty and imperative to protect the democratic process.”
Judge Quaraishi, a Biden nominee, said he believes the bracketing system in particular “imposes a moderate burden on the right to associate.”
The suit will now enter the discovery phase and could last years before there’s a resolution to the constitutional questions raised by the plaintiffs.
