The 2024 New Jersey U.S. Senate race is embroiled in controversy, not the least of which is the federal criminal indictment for corruption against incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is running for re-election despite deep unpopularity among his state's voters.

Another major issue is the controversial layout of New Jersey's primary ballots, the underlying statutes of which have been challenged in a lawsuit and, somewhat surprisingly, are not being defended by Democratic New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, Politico reported.

The problem here involves two primary ballot design practices unique to New Jersey known as the "county line" and "bracketing," which involve grouping candidates who've been endorsed by county political parties, regardless of the offices the individual candidates seek, while relegating unendorsed candidates to other sections of that ballot in a manner that disadvantages those candidates and can be confusing for voters.

AG will not intervene to defend state laws

In a letter sent Sunday to the federal judge presiding over the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quarashi, New Jersey AG Platkin wrote to inform the judge that he would not be intervening in the case to defend the underlying state statutes that have resulted in the "county line" and "bracketing" primary ballot practices.

"In light of the evidentiary record, the Attorney General has concluded that the challenged statutes are unconstitutional and therefore will not be defending them," the letter stated.

Platkin's letter explained at length how the challenged practices provided an unconstitutionally unfair advantage to some candidates over others by way of prominent ballot placement to candidates included in a county line or bracket while excluded candidates were disadvantaged by being grouped with others they don't wish to be associated with or listed separately in a manner that made it unclear who they were running against or even which office they were seeking.

Rep. Kim vs. first lady Murphy

The lawsuit that New Jersey AG Platkin will not be intervening in was filed by Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), the leading candidate in the primary race to replace the indicted and unpopular Sen. Menendez, with Kim's chief rival in that race being New Jersey's first lady Tammy Murphy, the wife of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Kim leads by substantial margins in virtually all of the polls for that race, while Murphy, undoubtedly due to her husband's influence over county-level Democratic party leaders, has received the majority of the county line endorsements, which will result in the governor's wife being displayed far more prominently on the primary ballots than the congressman, per Politico.

The outlet further noted that Kim has long voiced his opposition to the county line and bracketing practices. In contrast, Murphy has defended the practices as simply being the rules in place that must be followed, though she said in a statement, "If it remains up to the county parties to determine the process, I will complete those conventions and screenings. Should the courts determine a different path, I will follow those rules as well."

As for Gov. Murphy, Politico reported that he was quite displeased with AG Platkin's decision to not intervene in Kim's lawsuit and defend the constitutionality of the state statutes that underly the challenged primary ballot practices.

"Outside the context of any campaign, Governor Murphy has consistently and accurately noted that the bracketing of candidates is permitted by duly enacted laws that have been on the books for decades," a spokesperson for the governor said. "It is well-established that Attorneys General have a general obligation to defend the constitutionality of statutes, regardless of their own personal views. The Governor believes that a legal defense of the statute permitting bracketing would have been appropriate and consistent with the actions of prior Attorneys General."

Kim claims controversial primary ballot practices violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments

The New Jersey Monitor reported that the surprising letter from AG Platkin informing the court of his non-intervention in Rep. Kim's lawsuit came just one day before Judge Quarashi held an evidentiary hearing on Monday in the case.

Kim argued in a legal filing that the county line and bracketing practices violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, in that the practices force him to be grouped with other candidates he doesn't necessarily want to be associated with and place him at a disadvantage in terms of placement on the primary ballot.

It is unclear how or when the judge will rule on the lawsuit, though it will presumably be rather quickly as several important ballot-related deadlines are fast approaching for New Jersey's June 25 primary election.