It's also election day in New Jersey (and Virginia)

Election day is a state holiday in New Jersey. While the day isn't likely to also be celebrated as a kind of "citizenship engagement" day, it should be.



According to a posting on the National Main Street email list, the decision by the City Council of Hammonton New Jersey to move city hall from downtown to the outskirts of the city has led to the creation of a local party, "Hammonton First." From the email:

We have been fighting an attempt by our elected officials to move Town Hall out of downtown. The locally owned paper is advocating a downtown site. Because of their coverage, public support to keep town hall downtown is so strong that many residents united and formed an independent political party to oppose the move. Hundreds of people have come to rallies in support of keeping town hall downtown. They have a full slate of candidates for Mayor and Town Council and they have a solid political organization. They look to do quite well in tomorrow’s election. Many are predicting a third party sweep and a rejection of the pro-sprawl platform of Democrats and Republicans.

See the "Candidate Profiles" on the Hammonton Gazette website for more information.
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Interesting precedent.

In 1970s Ann Arbor, the "Human Rights Party" was formed by current and former students at the University of Michigan. "The organization was established in 1970, and it quickly gained strength following the 1971 ratification of the Twenty-sixth amendment to the Constitution, which gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. Working to gain electoral votes among the city's large population of students at the University of Michigan, the HRP succeeded in electing two candidates to the Ann Arbor city council in 1972, and a third in 1974." Click here for more info.

Of course, DC has the example of the Statehood Party, which has since merged with the local Greens. In part, this party was supported by a provision in the DC Home Rule Charter which reserves two at-large seats for non-Democrats. For many years, Hilda Mason held one of these seats as the only elected representative of the Statehood Party. Click here for some historical information, and here for the current DC Statehood-Green Party.