Here’s why we are proud to endorse Steve Barratt for LD24 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: Candidates need to know that there is no opportunity to show favoritism. I observed the draw in Morris County and can vouch that it was objective. That said, the ballots will all show one candidate at the top of each draw which is an unfair advantage.

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.

Comment: All citizens should have every opportunity to exercise their right to vote. I favor automatic eligibility for citizens to vote when they reach voting age. That said, there must be a solid, visible and reliable way to ensure that only citizens are registered to vote.

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: If money is speech, we should be able to identify who is speaking, just like we can identify someone using verbal or written speech.

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.

Comment: I support a public advocate but would want that to be an elected position rather than appointed. The public advocate should be chosen by – the public.

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.

Comment: I believe in transparency and was initially concerned about chaos in meetings regarding highly controversial topics. But as legislators we should be willing and able to defend everything we do. Transparency raises the people’s confidence in 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.

Comment: A full time legislature will cost more but it will ensure that legislators have a singular focus on the business of the people. That makes it a good thing.

---

More information about Steve Barratt:

Email: barratt4LD24@gmail.com
Phone: ‪(551) 236-5512‬
Party affiliation: Democratic party

Current Occupation: Retired Advocate for Electoral Reform
Education: BS Information Systems
Public/party service: Poll worker, Volunteer at Habitat 4 Humanity, worked with Represent US, Voter Choice, Forward Party State Lead