NJ Legislature moves to address house vacancies
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... After two New Jersey congressmen died while in office in the same year, lawmakers in the Legislature have said it is time to reassess the way vacant seats are filled.
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A bill introduced in May 2024 by state Senators Andrew Zwicker and John McKeon to address how those processes should be modified was discussed MAy29 [2025] at a meeting of the state Senate's State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.
..... "This is practical as opposed to theoretical. We went through it with the death of Congressman [Donald] Payne and then the death of Congressman [bill] Pascrell," McKeon said. "We figured out what a nuisance it is, quite frankly, and what a nightmare it is to fill those congressional seats."
..... The proposed legislator would expedite the process for filling a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives under certain circumstances.
..... Unlike with U.S. Senate vacancies, which New Jersey also experienced last year [2025] after the resignation of Senator Bob Memendez, the governor cannot temporarily appoint someone to the House to fill an unexpired term.
..... Right now, the governor is responsible for announcing the timeline of a special primary and general election to fill a vacancy unless the vacancy happens on or after July 3 of the second year of the representative's two-year term. In that case, the vacancy is not required to be filled.
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The bill removes the primary or special primary election requirement in some circumstances and instead allows for each political party to select its candidate to fill a vacancy.
..... Zwicker explained that the primary is removed only in certain circumstances because in the event of a scheduled special election, "in that wooden is not enough time for two elections."
..... There are three vacancy scenarios in which the bill would require the governor to schedule an election
* General election: If the vacancy happens in any year on or before the 70th day preceding the day of the general election, the governor would designate the next general election day as the day to fill the vacancy, and no primary would be held for the nomination of candidates.
* Special elections in any year: if the vacancy happens in any year earlier than July 1, the governor would be required to designate a special election day as the day to fill the vacancy and that no primary election would be held. The special election would be between 70 and 80 days later.
* Special election in first year: If the vacancy happens within 70 days of the general election and the team still has more than a year to go, the governor would be required to schedule a special election day and there would be no primary.
..... That third scenario would come into play this year [2025] if either Representative Josh Gottheimer or Representative Mikkie Sherrill secured the democratic nomination in the gubernatorial primary and then went on to win the general election.
..... Zeicker said this bill was "motivated by the fact that a governor is not compelled to call for a special election, so [they] could have a seat open for nearly two years if a vacancy occurred early in a team."
..... Katie Sobko covers New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com