TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Donald Norcross (D-Camden/Gloucester) to return the date of the presidential primary election to June, saving millions of dollars in elections-related costs, has been signed into law.
The law (S-2883/A-3777) eliminates the separate presidential primary election held in February and requires, instead, that it be held during the regular June primary election, as it was prior to 2005. The move will save approximately $12 million in FY 2012.
“New Jersey moved its presidential primary to February with the intent of giving the state a larger role in determining the outcome of the nomination process. However, when half the states in the country also held earlier primaries, the move was essentially rendered moot. We ended up spending millions of dollars to hold a separate election, without achieving the Election Day advantage everyone had anticipated,” said Senator Norcross. “Returning the election to the traditional June primary date will create nearly $12 million in taxpayer savings and provide us with the same level of influence we’ve had in the past.”