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Cumberland County to pay clerk legal fees from ballot-layout lawsuit; commissioners approve settlement
Summary
County clerk told commissioners the county must pay roughly $32,600 in legal fees from last year’s primary ballot-layout challenge; the board also approved a settlement in related litigation after county counsel warned of potential sanctions.
Cumberland County commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 11 to approve a settlement in federal litigation and to authorize payment connected to a ballot-layout lawsuit that county clerks across New Jersey faced after the 2024 primary.
The county clerk told the board that a challenge by candidate Andy Kim over ballot layout resulted in a court decision requiring counties to adopt an office-block layout for primary ballots and that the county must cover the challenger’s legal fees. "Every county clerk in the state of New Jersey is paying the legal fees for the Andy Kim ballot challenge, and that's what we're doing tonight," the county clerk said. The clerk said the payment comes from the county clerk's 2024 election budget and identified the payment amount as about $32,600.
Why it matters: the payment is a direct charge to the clerk's office budget rather than new county appropriations and follows a court order, the clerk said. The board also approved Resolution 2025-115, described at the meeting as "authorizing and approving settlement in the litigation matter of Andy Kennett et al. versus S. Riley in her official capacity," a U.S. District Court case in the District of New Jersey (case number read at the meeting). A member of the board said they were "not happy about this" but that, on the advice of county counsel, failing to approve the settlement could lead to sanctions, and so the member voted in favor.
Clerk’s financial report: the county clerk provided monthly revenue figures during remarks to the board, saying the office returned $219,223.71 to the county in January and $559,897.90 to the state; the clerk also reported processing 779 passport applications in January (a 60% revenue increase vs. 2024) and said recording fees were up roughly a third.
Board action and statements: the board approved the settlement and related payments in roll-call votes. During discussion, one commissioner said the measure was adopted reluctantly but that county counsel advised that not approving it could expose the county to sanctions. Director Sarra echoed that advice and voted in favor.
What the board did not decide: meeting remarks and the clerk’s explanation made clear the payment will come from last year’s election budget; the board did not allocate additional current-year funds for this payment.
The county did not provide additional detail at the meeting on any appeals or further litigation steps associated with the underlying ballot-layout ruling.
Ending: Commissioners approved the settlement and the payment as read at the meeting. The clerk said the payment obligation and the budget line it draws from are the result of final court orders and earlier legal challenges from the 2024 primary.
