New Jersey moved a step closer last week toward overhauling its unique-in-the-nation election ballots, in a decision that could reshape party politics in the state for years to come. On Saturday, the federal judge who ordered the redesign, in response to a lawsuit filed in February by three Democratic candidates, said in a statement that only the Democratic primary, which includes the race to replace Senator Robert Menendez, would have to use the new ballot. The Republican ballot, he wrote, can stay the same, though he said his order did not prohibit Republican leaders from choosing to alter their party’s ballot. The clarification is the latest twist in a long legal battle in New Jersey to shift the balance of electoral power away from party-backed candidates and open the door for newcomers in both parties. “If this decision holds, it will completely upend New Jersey politics.”

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Persons: Robert Menendez, Julia Sass Rubin, “ It’s, Dr, Rubin, ” Organizations: Democratic, Republican, Rutgers University Locations: Jersey, New Jersey, upend New Jersey