19:5-3 Membership and organization of county committees; vacancies; certification of unit of representation and number of election districts.

19:5-3. The members of the county committees of political parties shall be elected at the primary for the general election in the manner provided in this Title for the selection of party candidates to be voted for at the general election by voters of a municipality at such intervals as shall be provided in the bylaws of the county committee. The county committee shall consist of one male and one female member from each unit of representation in the county. The male receiving the highest number of votes among the male candidates and the female receiving the highest number of votes among the female candidates shall be declared elected. Members of the county committee shall actually reside in the districts or units which they respectively represent. The county committee shall determine by its bylaws the units into which the county shall be divided for purpose of representation in the county committee.

The members of the county committee of each of the political parties shall take office on the first Saturday following their election, on which day the terms of all members of such committees theretofore elected shall terminate. The annual meeting of each county committee shall be held on the first Tuesday following the primary election, except that when such meeting day falls on a legal holiday then the said meeting shall be held on the day following, and when such meeting day falls on the day of a municipal runoff election within the county then said meeting may be held on the day following, at an hour and place to be designated in a notice in writing to be mailed by the chairperson to each member and member-elect. If the annual meeting coincides with a period of religious observance, the meeting may be held on another date, and under no circumstances shall that date occur later than the third Tuesday following the primary election. The members of such committee shall elect some suitable person as chairperson who shall be a resident of such county to hold office until a successor is elected. The chairperson of the outgoing county committee shall transmit, with the notice of the annual meeting, a copy of the constitution and bylaws to any newly elected committee member. The members shall also elect a vice-chairperson of the opposite sex of the chairperson to hold office for 1 year or until a successor is elected and the vice-chairperson shall perform all duties required by law and the constitution and bylaws of such committee. Any person elected or appointed to membership on the county committee pursuant to R.S.19:5-2 may request, in writing and by certified mail to the county chairperson, such constitution or bylaws currently in effect. The committee member requesting the constitution or bylaws shall receive the constitution or bylaws within 48 hours of the receipt of the request by the chairperson. The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the committee and shall perform all duties required by law and the constitution and bylaws of such committee.

When a member of a county committee ceases to be a resident of the district or unit from which elected, a vacancy on the county committee shall exist. A member of a county committee of any political party may resign his or her office to the committee of which he or she is a member, and upon acceptance thereof by the committee, a vacancy shall exist. A vacancy in the office of a member of the county committee of any political party, caused by death, resignation, failure to elect, or removal for cause, shall be filled for the unexpired term by the municipal committee of the municipality wherein the vacancy occurs, if there is such committee, and if not, by the remaining members of the county committee of such political party representing the territory in the county in which such vacancy occurs. The chairperson of the outgoing county committee shall provide a copy of the constitution and bylaws to any committee member appointed pursuant to R.S.19:5-2 to fill a vacancy within three business days of the committee member's selection.

The chairperson of the county committee of the several political parties shall, before April 1 in a year in which county committee members are to be elected, certify to the clerk of each municipality in the county the unit of representation in such municipality, together with the enumeration of the election district or districts embraced within such unit.

amended 1946, c.11, ss.3,17 (1946, c.11, ss.3,17; repealed 1948, c.2, s.32); 1948, c.2, s.4; 1955, c.236; 1964, c.23; 1965, c.4, s.3; 1966, c.19, s.2; 1967, c.7, s.2; 1967, c.26, s.2; 1968, c.292, s.2; 1978, c.29; 1979, c.458, s.2; 1980, c.105, s.3; 2009, c.135, s.2; 2011, c.180.