Democrats not concerned they missed deadline to pick Obama electors

The New Jersey Democratic State Committee failed to hold a meeting to formally select its electors for Barack Obama, but is still on track to meet the Division of Elections filing deadline of Sept. 12.

State law requires political parties to hold a meeting to nominate electors within seven days of its national convention. The parties then have an additional week to file electors' names with the Division of Elections.

Democratic Committee Executive Director Rob Angelo said the elector certification process, generally completed at the committee meeting, is now underway.

"In 2004 we didn't do it until early October and that year the convention was in July," Angelo said.

Division of Elections spokeswoman Susan Evans said her office will play no role in determining whether or not the Democrats will be penalized for skipping the meeting.

"It's up to them to meet," Evans said. "We're not here to enforce the meeting. We're here to enforce the filing deadline."

Since voters actually cast ballots for electors, not candidates, at this point New Jerseyans are unable to vote for Obama in a state where Democrats are counting on fifteen electoral votes.

"We're not worried about it," said Andrew Poag, communications director for Obama's New Jersey campaign. "We have confidence that the state committee will have the electors in place in time. It's the state's responsibility and we're just gonna leave it to them."

New Jersey Republicans have scheduled a meeting for Thursday.

"We're not in a position to tell the Obama campaign how to run itself," said Peter Feldman, a spokesman for the McCain campaign. "We're pursuing our campaign in New Jersey, energized following a convention where we nominated a team of mavericks, both with a record of reform."

N.J.S.A. 19:13-15.
In presidential years the State committee of a political party shall meet at the call of its chairman, within 1 week following the closing of the party's national convention, for the purpose of nominating candidates for electors of President and Vice-President of the United States and shall certify such nomination in a written or printed or partly written and partly printed certificate of nomination.

The certificate of nomination shall contain the name of each person nominated, his residence and post-office address, the office for which he is named, and shall also contain in not more than 3 words the designation of the party the nominating body represents. The names of the candidates for President and Vice-President for whom such electors are to vote may be included in the certificate. The State committee may also appoint a committee to whom shall be delegated the power to fill vacancies occurring prior to the election of the electors, howsoever caused, and the names and addresses of such committee shall be included in the certificate.

The certificate shall be signed by the State chairman who shall make oath before an officer authorized to administer the same that he is the State chairman of the political party and that the certificate and statements therein contained are true to the best of his knowledge and belief. A certificate that such oath has been taken shall be made and signed by the officer administering the same and indorsed upon or attached to the certificate of nomination. Inclosed upon or attached to the certificate shall be statements in writing that the persons named therein accept such nominations and the oath of allegiance prescribed in section 41:1-1 of the Revised Statutes duly taken and subscribed by each or all of them before an officer or officers authorized to take oaths in this State.

The certificate of nomination and the acceptance thereof shall be filed with the Secretary of State not later than 1 week after the nomination of such electors of President and Vice-President of the UnitedThe procedure for all objections to the certificates of nomination, the determination of the validity of such objections, the correction of defective certificates, and the presentation of such certificates and any documents attached thereto, shall be the same as herein provided for direct petitions of nominations.