Here’s why we are excited to endorse Blake Michael for LD27 Assembly:

Candidate order: The bill to reform New Jersey’s primary ballots (A5116) moves New Jersey closer to fair primaries by eliminating the county line ballot and instituting an office block ballot design. However, candidate order for the primary ballot will still be determined by the County Clerk or Municipal Clerk drawing names out of a bin. This provides an advantage for the candidate drawn in first position and has resulted in some clerks drawing the party endorsed candidates for first position a statistically improbable number of times. I support the following reform that would ensure a more fair candidate order on the ballot:
Rotating the order of candidates for each office by voting precinct, so each candidate appears on the ballot first, second, and so forth, approximately the same number of times (see the recently introduced bill A5181).

Comment: I strongly support a randomized system because studies show that the first candidate on a primary ballot will receive up to 5% additional support due to their position. This artificially inflates support for the candidate who draws the first position.

Slogans: I support prohibiting the use of slogans to express party endorsements on primary election ballots. New Jersey is the only state that allows primary candidates to use slogans to indicate endorsements.

Comment: I think slogans are helpful for undecided voters, but I strongly disagree with the use of party endorsements on the primary ballot. Voters, rather than county officials, should decide who represents them in Trenton.

Voter access: I support adopting parts of H.R.1 in New Jersey in order to increase voter participation, ensure access to the ballot box, and strengthen elections, including specifically same day registration, early voting and a paper trail for machine voting that enables verification.

Comment: Voting is the foundation of our democracy and must be protected.

Ethics reform: I support ethics reforms that would require broader disclosure of financial information and the release of income taxes by candidates for county-level and state-level public office, as a means of transparency.

Comment: I completely support increased transparency for candidates at both the county-level and state-level. Elections should not be bought.

Campaign funding: I support the public funding of campaigns for all state-level elected offices (i.e., the state legislature and gubernatorial elections).

Comment: I strongly support public funding for all state-level elected offices, but I do believe there should be a lower threshold for state legislature elections than for gubernatorial elections in order to qualify for matching.

Redistricting: I support placing a nonpartisan commission in charge of the legislative redistricting process.

Public Advocate: I support passing legislation to reinstate the statewide Office of the Public Advocate that was eliminated in 2010.

Posting of state bills: I support requiring that bills be posted in written form at least 72 hours prior to committee discussion or vote, and that budget bills be posted at least 5 business days in advance of discussion or vote, to improve transparency in the legislative process.

Comment: The public has a right to participate in the legislative process through comments. We can’t expect the public to fully participate in commentary if we aren’t providing the bills early enough for them to read.

State legislative meetings: I support making all committee meetings accessible to the public for attendance and testimony by online means (e.g., via zoom) and streaming of voting sessions to increase availability and transparency of government.

Comment: Bringing our committee meetings online will be a game changer (As a teacher, I would love to show them in my classroom)! Many people across our state don’t have the time or resources to make it all the way to Trenton for a meeting, but they deserve to be fully engaged in the legislative process.

Full time legislature: I support making the state legislature full-time and prohibiting the simultaneous holding of other paid positions, so as to eliminate conflicts of interest and sources of influence and pressure on state legislators.

Comment: Our current part-time legislature limits participation in the legislature to people whose jobs are flexible enough to accommodate a part-time schedule.

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More information about Blake Michael:

Email: blakemichaelforassembly@gmail.com
Phone: 862-217-6159
Campaign website: blakeforassembly.com
Social media: Facebook
Party affiliation: Democratic party

Date of Birth: 4/11/1995
Current Occupation: Teacher and Special Education Attorney
Education: I have a BA from Cornell, an MPA from the University of Oklahoma, and a JD from the Fordham University School of Law.
Public/party service: I have been a teacher for almost ten years. I currently teach in the morning and then transition to working at a law firm as a special education attorney. I have been involved in political campaigns since high school and hope to make a difference for our students.