ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 5886

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 8, 2026

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5886 (1R).

      As amended, this bill revises the process for filling a vacancy from this State in the United States House of Representatives under certain circumstances.

      Under current law, and pursuant to the United States Constitution and federal law, vacancies in the United States House of Representatives are may, depending on the time of the year the vacancy occurs, be filled by special election.  In contrast to the provisions for filling vacancies in the United States Senate, where the Governor may make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy until it can be filled by election for the unexpired term, the United States Constitution does not provide for the temporary appointment of a Representative.  The Governor has the responsibility to issue a writ of election to fill the vacancy, while the Legislature may prescribe by law the election’s scheduling.  Current law provides that it is the duty of the Governor to issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy, unless the term of service for the vacant office will expire within six months after the happening of the vacancy.  Therefore, if the vacancy happens on or after July 3 of the second year of the Representative’s two-year term of office, the vacancy is not required to be filled.

Current Law Circumstances and Timeframes

      Current law specifies three different vacancy scenarios under which the Governor is required or permitted to designate the next general election day to fill the vacancy, permitted to designate a special election day to fill the vacancy, and whether a primary election or a special primary election is required to nominate the candidates for election.

      (1)  General Election With a Primary Election – if the vacancy happens in any year, not later than the 70th day prior to the day for holding the next primary election for the general election, the Governor is required to issue a writ of election to fill the vacancy designating the next general election day as the day on which the election will be held to fill such vacancy, with the nomination of candidates made in the same manner as the nomination of other candidates at said primary election. This scenario would typically cover vacancies occurring in January, February, and most of March of either year of the Representative’s two-year term of office, with the primary election occurring in June and the general election occurring in November.    

      (2)  General Election Without a Primary Election – if the vacancy happens in any year later than the 70th day prior to the day for holding the primary election for the general election but before the 70th day preceding the day of the general election, and the unexpired term to be filled exceeds one year, the Governor is permitted to designate the next general election day as the day on which the election will be held to fill such vacancy, and that no primary election will be held for the nomination of candidates. Each political party selects its candidate to fill such vacancy in the same manner as under current law for selecting candidates to fill vacancies that arise among candidates that won the primary election and were thereby nominated to appear on the general election ballot. This scenario would typically cover vacancies occurring in the period from the last days of March through the last days of August, but only in the first year of the Representative’s two-year term of office, with the general election occurring in November.    

      (3)  Special Election With a Special Primary Election – the Governor is permitted in the writ of election to designate a special day for the election to fill the vacancy, specifying the day on which a special primary election must be held, which must be not less than 70 days nor more than 76 days following the issuance of the writ, and specifying the day on which the special election must be held, which must be not less than 64 days nor more than 70 days following the day of the special primary election. Under this scenario, the special election to fill the vacancy could occur approximately 134 to 143 days after the issuance of the writ of election. Current law does not specify a timeframe for the Governor to issue the writ of election.

Timeframes Under the Bill

      This bill revises the process for filling a vacancy from this State in the United States House of Representatives.  Specifically, the bill establishes a timeframe of within 10 days of the occurrence of the vacancy for the Governor to issue a writ of election. 

      The bill specifies two ways in which a vacancy will be filled.

      First, when the unexpired term to be filled equals or exceeds 180 days after the happening of the vacancy, the writ will designate the day on which a special primary election will be held, which will be not less than 70 days nor more than 76 days following the date of the issuance of the writ.  The special election will then be held not less than 64 nor more than 70 days following the day of the special primary election.  However, when the latest date on which a special primary election or special election may be held is not more than 45 days prior to the day on which the primary election or general election is to be held, the writ will designate the date of such primary election or general election as the day on which the special primary election or special election will be held.  When the latest date on which a special primary election or special election may be held is not more than 25 days following the day on which the primary election or general election is to be held, the writ will designate a date not less than 26 days nor more than 32 days following the primary election or general election as the day on which the special primary election or special election will be held.

      Second, when the unexpired term to be filled is less than 180 days, but not less than 135 days after the happening of the vacancy, the writ will designate the general election day as the day on which the election shall be held to fill such vacancy.  No primary election will be held for the nomination of candidates to fill such vacancy, and the political parties will select their respective candidates as provided under current law and file their nominations with the Secretary of State.  Under the bill, the Secretary of State will certify the names of the candidates to the county clerk and county board of elections of each county affected by the vacancy not later than the 20th day following the issuance of the writ of election.

      The 180-day timeframe is based upon the amount of time required for the Governor to issue a writ for the election (up to 10 days), to conduct a primary election (70 to 76 days), to conduct a general election (64 to 70 days), to audit and certify the election results (up to 30 days), and have a new member take office.

Other Elections Procedures

      The bill also updates certain statutory language to reflect current practices and procedures.  The bill removes language that required the writ of election to specify the day or days when the district boards would meet for the purpose of making, revising or correcting the registers of voters to be used at such special election.  This no longer reflects standard practice.

      The bill further revises the requirement that notice of the special election be published once every week until the election is held, instead requiring that notice be published only once at least 45 days prior to the election.  Under current law, all voters will receive additional notice by mail, in the form of a sample ballot or mail-in ballot.

      Finally, the bill specifies that, when a special election is to be held, the draw for candidate ballot position will be held as soon as practicable following the special primary election, provided that members of the public are given sufficient notice to witness the drawing.  Current law does not distinguish between the ballot draw timelines for an election under normal timelines and the expedited process for filling vacancies.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The amendments provide that, when the vacancy occurs and the unexpired term of office exceeds 180 days, and the latest date on which a special primary election or special election may be held is not more than 45 days prior to the day on which the primary election or general election is to be held, the writ will designate the date of such primary election or general election as the day on which the special primary election or special election will be held.  When the latest date on which a special primary election or special election may be held is not more than 25 days following the day on which the primary election or general election is to be held, the writ will designate a date not less than 26 days nor more than 32 days following the primary election or general election as the day on which the special primary election or special election will be held.

      The amendments also provide that when the vacancy occurs and the unexpired term of office is less than 180 days, but not less than 135 days after the happening of the vacancy, the writ will designate the general election day as the day on which the election will be held to fill such vacancy.

      The amendments also expand the timeframe for the Secretary of State to certify the candidates selected and nominated by each political party, from the eleventh day to the 20th day following the issuance of the writ, when no special primary is to be held and the vacancy will be filled at the general election.

      The amendments also remove language which specified that the office would remain vacant if the unexpired term was less than 135 days after the vacancy occurred.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      Fiscal information for this bill is currently unavailable.