Hudson County Superior Court Assignment Judge David Katz granted an order to show cause in a lawsuit brought forth by 33rd Legislative District Assembly candidates Tony Hector and Frank Alonso seeking waterfront voting sites.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Katz made the decision two days ago after two approximately hour-long hearings in the case, setting the next hearing in the case for Tuesday, May 20th at 10 a.m.
Hector and Alonso, running on Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s “Democrats for Change” gubernatorial slate, filed a one-count lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court on May 8th seeking three in-person voting locations on River Road, as well as one early voting site.
“This is about basic fairness and today we live to fight another day. If you pay taxes in Hudson County, you deserve a polling place you can actually reach,” Hector said in a statement.
“We’re not going to sit back while the political machine continues to make it harder for working families to vote.”
The plaintiffs are in an uphill battle in the June 10th primary against Assemblyman Gabriel Rodriguez and Larry Wainstein, who are backed by state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack and the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).
Hector and Alonso are calling on their opposition to take a position on whether or not they are in favor of expanded voter access for waterfront access, with the former specifically asking where Stack stands on the issue.
“We’re not just running to win an election. We’re running to break down barriers and make this government work for everyone— not just the political insiders who have run these towns for way too long,” Alonso added.
The Hudson County Board of Elections, who are arguing that statutory deadlines have passed to allow for further polling sites, are represented by Deputy New Jersey Attorney General Craig S. Keiser.
” … Redistricting is not possible at this juncture as the deadline for any redistricting in advance of an election is 82 days prior to the primary election, March 20, 2025. Clearly, that deadline for redistricting has passed and the Board is not permitted to redistrict now,” he wrote in a letter to the court on Tuesday.
“Moreover, even if redistricting was ordered outside the statutory deadline, such cannot be implemented for the June 2025 Primary Election, which is already underway with mail-in ballots having been sent to voters approximately three weeks ago and some already having been returned cast by voters.”
Keiser further stated that only municipalities are permitted by law to recommend polling locations and that deadline passed on April 1st.
Through that process, the board of elections added three polling locations in North Bergen and one in Weehawken.