Senate President Steve Sweeney, right, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin announced Saturday they had called off votes on the proposed constitutional amendment. | Mel Evans/AP Photo Intense opposition kills New Jersey redistricting amendment

State legislative Democrats’ unpopular attempt to change the way New Jersey draws its legislative districts has died following weeks of intense negative feedback from both Republicans and Democrats.

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) each put out a statement Saturday evening announcing they had called off votes on the proposed constitutional amendment that had been scheduled for Monday.


“While we continue to recognize the importance of improving the legislative redistricting process, we will not be moving forward with the proposed ballot resolution on Monday,” Sweeney said. “This will give us the time and opportunity to review the input we have received from the public, our legislative colleagues and others to determine if any of these ideas would improve the proposal.”

The Senate president vowed to “maintain an open mind as we continue to work on a proposal that best serves the electoral process and the values of our democracy.”

The decision, which came hours after Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) expressed doubts about the amendment during a radio interview, makes it highly unlikely the proposal will make it onto the ballot in 2019.

At two simultaneous public hearings Thursday, dozens of liberal activists, academics and other advocacy groups trashed the amendment, which would insert a controversial formula into the state constitution that would require at least a quarter of the 40 state legislative districts be drawn within five points of the average statewide vote over the previous decade. Even former Attorney General Eric Holder, a Democrat who founded the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, issued a statement opposing the measure.

The other particularly controversial part of the amendment would expand the state legislative redistricting commission from 11 members to 13, and let legislative leaders appoint eight of its members. Currently, the Democratic and Republican state chairs appoint 10 members while the state Supreme Court’s chief justice appoints a tie breaker. That was seen as a dig at Gov. Phil Murphy, who is allied with Democratic State Chairman John Currie and is often as odds with the Democratic faction that controls the Legislature.

“I appreciate the input from the public and recognize the value of having open public hearings in crafting any legislation regarding such an important issue affecting our democracy,” Coughlin said. “I want to integrate some of the valuable input received to help create a better measure and improve the redistricting process overall. So therefore, I will not post the redistricting resolution for a vote, but remain committed to strengthening our electoral process.”

The amendment united disparate groups in opposition, putting Murphy, his liberal allies, academics and Republicans on the same side. Many called the move a power grab that would virtually ensure Democrats keep their majorities barring a political sea change.

Supporters in the Legislature suggested liberal advocacy groups that opposed the change only did so because it diluted Murphy’s power, noting that the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, which helped organize the opposition, promoted a mostly similar bill three years ago before dropping its support. But many of the liberal activists said a gerrymandered legislative district map that helps Democrats would hurt the cause of overhauling redistricting in states where it’s been used to help Republicans.

It was clear the overwhelming opposition to the amendment made it difficult for legislative Democrats to muster support.

In a WNYC interview that aired Saturday, Weinberg, a Sweeney ally, said it was not a “foregone conclusion” that the bill would move Monday.

"There's something in this bill to affront almost everybody. That's not always easy to do. But, apparently, that's what we managed to do,” Weinberg said.

Even if legislative Democrats attempt again to put the question before voters, chances are now extremely slim they could do it in 2019. In order to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, the Legislature must either pass it with a three-fifths majority or a simple majority two calendar years in a row.

Monday is the last scheduled Senate and Assembly voting session of 2018, and since legislative Democrats were unable to even get a simple majority in favor of the bill, it’s highly unlikely they could win over enough members to get a three-fifths majority next year.

In a statement Saturday evening, Murphy commended the legislative leaders for pulling the proposal.

“I’m grateful they heard the voices of so many within New Jersey and around the country who saw that the proposal would have made our Legislature less representative and less accountable,” Murphy said. “I thank the many residents and grassroots organizations, on both sides of the aisle, who stood up to make their voices heard and whose activism resulted in the decision to pull this measure. We have serious challenges facing our state, and now we can get to them together without distraction.”

State Sen. Tom Kean called the decision "a big win for the people of New Jersey."

The proposed amendment "would have disenfranchised millions of voters, taking away one of the most important rights we have as Americans: the power to choose who represents us in the halls of government," he said. "This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Gerrymandering is wrong. We will remain vigilant, and fight back against any redistricting proposal that betrays democracy."