Here’s why we are happy to endorse Michelle Burwell for LD19 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:
Requiring that the order of candidates for each office on a primary ballot be determined by a computerized random draw rather than a human draw. 

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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More information about Michelle Burwell:

Email: burwell4office@gmail.com
Phone: 973-999-9999
Campaign website: www.burwell4office.com
Social media: Facebook
Party affiliation: Democratic party

Date of Birth: 11/14/1971
Current Occupation: Social Work/Property Manager
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Political Science & Master’s degree in Child Advocacy. Specialization in Policy Planning Montclair State University.
Master of Social Work Rutgers University New Brunswick with a focus on Management and Policy.
Public/party service: I am an advocate in the community, providing civic education and support to local nonprofits. I am a subcommittee member of Housing with the League of Women Voters, I am a member of NAACP.