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- Elections in New Jersey are authorized under Article II of the New Jersey State Constitution, which establishes elections for the governor, the lieutenant governor, and members of the New Jersey Legislature. Elections are regulated under state law, Title 19. The office of the New Jersey Secretary of State has a Division of Elections that oversees the execution of elections under state law (This used to be the New Jersey Attorney General). In addition, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is responsible for administering campaign financing and lobbying disclosure. Historically, it has voted about half the time, nationally, for each of the two major parties as between 1860 and 2020 the state voted Democratic 56% of the time. Traditionally not a swing state, it has voted Democratic in recent decades, as George H. W. Bush was the last Republican candidate for president to carry the state, in 1988. The congressional delegations have been as evenly divided over the decades, however, since the 1998 elections, Republicans have not reclaimed their majority in the delegation as the Democrats held 7 or 8 seats over the next 14 years. The delegation was evenly split 6-6 from 2013 to 2017, and after the 2018 elections, Democrats held 11 of the 12 seats, the largest seat share since 1912. Currently, they hold a 10-2 majority. The New Jersey Legislature has also switched hands over the years, and one house was evenly divided from 1999–2001, however, Democrats have gained ground and have controlled both chambers of the legislature since 2002. On the state level, Republicans are more competitive as the governorship has alternated between the two major parties since the election of Democrat Richard J. Hughes in 1961, with a succession of Republicans and Democrats serving as governor. New Jersey currently has a Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and elected their second lieutenant governor, Democrat Sheila Oliver. Both of its senators have been Democrats since 1979, expect brief periods with Republican appointees. New Jersey is split almost down the middle between the New York City and Philadelphia television markets, respectively the largest and fourth-largest markets in the nation. As a result, campaign budgets are among the largest in the country. In a 2020 study, New Jersey was ranked as the 16th easiest state for citizens to vote in. (en)
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