League of Women Voters of New Jersey
Position on November 8th, 2005 Ballot Question
Proposing a Constitutional Amendment to Establish the Office of Lieutenant
Governor and
Revise Gubernatorial Succession in New Jersey
Prepared by the LWVNJ Gubernatorial Succession Study Committee:
10/14/05
The League of Women Voters of New Jersey supports the November 8th, 2005
ballot question that establishes the office of Lieutenant Governor and
revises gubernatorial succession.
There is a great need for the State of New Jersey's Constitution to address
the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch
when the Governor vacates the office. According to the State Constitution,
which was ratified in 1947, when the Governor vacates the office, the
Senate President assumes the office of acting Governor while maintaining
their power in the legislature. In this situation, the principle of separation
of powers is suspended. This proposed amendment is the first time in our
history for voters to have the opportunity to provide for the separation
of powers when the Governor vacates the office.
The proposed amendment provides for a more predictable and orderly succession
than the current system, especially when there is an evenly split senate
(which resulted in a co-governorship for ten days in January 2002). Having
a Lieutenant Governor could also make the Governor more efficient by providing
more time to focus on strategic issues.
In addition, the League supports the establishment of the office of Lieutenant
Governor in order to provide an opportunity for and encouragement to women
and minorities to run for state office. The office of Lieutenant Governor
will allow individuals who historically have had difficulty obtaining
state-wide recognition gain the recognition necessary to be elected to
higher political office.
However, the support of the League of Women Voters is given with the
fervent hope that the amendment can be refined in the future. Constitutional
amendments should be carefully thought out, very precise, and exact regarding
purpose and impact. There should be no room for "political interpretation"
or "political maneuvering" after the fact to suit a political
party or individual's agenda. The League of Women Voters of New Jersey
is concerned that this proposed amendment is not well thought out in this
regard.
One of the standards of the League of Women Voters is that voters have
a clear understanding of what they are voting for. This ballot question
does not qualify. First, the ballot question addresses three issues that
voters should be allowed to consider separately: a) requiring the acting
Governor to resign from the legislature b) establishing the office of
Lieutenant Governor and c) holding a midterm election for Governor. Further,
the wording of the interpretative statement on the ballot does not completely
explain what voters are approving. It does not state that the proposed
amendment provides for midterm elections to be held at the next November
general election should the Governor resign. The midterm election would
disallow the Lieutenant Governor to complete the "four year term"
implied in the interpretative statement.
Additionally, the League strongly disagrees with holding a midterm election
if the Lieutenant Governor succeeds to the Governor's office. The midterm
election diminishes the purpose and meaning of the position and is a misuse
of a salary when someone holds an office only so that s/he can apply a
legitimate signature to a call for a new election. Since the Lieutenant
Governor already ran for a four-year term, it appears to be demeaning
to require that s/he run again. In addition, this provision does not provide
for the four-year administrative continuity that is one of the benefits
of having a Lieutenant Governor. The League does not endorse the extra
costs and confusion involved in having a midterm election.
The League has great concern about the vague responsibilities and fiscal
impact of the Lieutenant Governor's office. While the proposed amendment
allows the Governor to assign the Lieutenant Governor as head of a State
department or agency (except that of Attorney General), the Governor is
not required to do so. The League does not want the office of Lieutenant
Governor to become another layer of bureaucracy that is a cost to taxpayers.
The responsibilities and the fiscal impact of the office need to be better
defined for voters, especially in this time of budgetary constraint.
Finally, there is the conception that the amendment gives too much power
to political parties. It allows them to determine, without input from
the electorate, the Governor's running mate thirty days after the gubernatorial
primary. The midterm election provision allows the parties a "second
chance" to determine who they want to be their representative in
the Governor's office should a succession occur.
Despite these reservations, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey
supports the ballot question. The League recognizes that the opportunity
to amend the State Constitution to provide for a more orderly plan for
gubernatorial succession is unlikely to be re-addressed by the legislature
in the near future. The ballot question achieves one of our highest priorities
- preserving the principle of a separation of powers.
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