Zwicker, Turner, Greenstein vote for so-called ‘elections transparency act’ as bill passes in the N.J. Senate
The New Jersey Senate passed a bill Monday that would allow more money to flow into politics in the state, would undo two decades of campaign finance reform, and would give Gov. Phil Murphy sway over the state’s election watchdog.
Three weeks after holding off on a vote on the bill called the “Elections Transparency Act,”
the Senate passed a slightly altered version of the legislation that guts pay-to-play laws, weakens the watchdog agency overseeing election laws in the state (The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission), and gives the governor power to choose the commissioners who govern the agency without approval of the Senate.
The Elections Transparency Act passed by a vote of 24 to 12. It increases the amount that people and corporations can donate to politicians and parties, and drastically reduces the time campaigns can be investigated for violations. It also eliminates the ability of municipalities to pass stricter campaign finance regulations.
Princeton area legislators voting yes on the legislation included Democrats Andrew Zwicker, Shirley Turner, and Linda Greenstein.
The legislation requires a full Assembly vote and must be signed by the governor before becoming law.
How legislators voted:
- Beach, James – Not Voting
- Bramnick, Jon M. – No
- Bucco, Anthony M. – No
- Burgess, Renee C. – Yes
- Codey, Richard J. – Not Voting
- Connors, Christopher J. – Yes
- Corrado, Kristin M. – No
- Cruz-Perez, Nilsa I. – Yes
- Cryan, Joseph P. – Yes
- Cunningham, Sandra B. – Not Voting
- Diegnan, Patrick J. – Yes
- Durr, Edward – No
- Gill, Nia H. – No
- Gopal, Vin – Yes
- Greenstein, Linda R. – Yes
- Holzapfel, James W. – No
- Johnson, Gordon M. – Yes
- Lagana, Joseph A. – Yes
- Madden, Fred H. – Yes
- O’Scanlon, Declan J. – No
- Oroho, Steven V. – No
- Pennacchio, Joseph – No
- Polistina, Vincent J. – Yes
- Pou, Nellie – Yes
- Ruiz, M. Teresa – Yes
- Sacco, Nicholas J. – Yes
- Sarlo, Paul A. – Yes
- Schepisi, Holly T. – No
- Scutari, Nicholas P. – Yes
- Singer, Robert W. – No
- Singleton, Troy – Yes
- Smith, Bob – Yes
- Stack, Brian P. – Yes
- Stanfield, Jean – Yes
- Steinhardt, Douglas J. – Not Voting
- Testa, Michael L. – No
- Thompson, Samuel D. – Yes
- Turner, Shirley K. – Yes
- Vitale, Joseph F. – Yes
- Zwicker, Andrew – Yes
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.