New Jersey’s diversity not fully reflected in legislature
By Maria Monica Fernandez
With the Nov. 7 election coming to a close and most news headlines focusing on the close partisan races that will determine whether Democrats or Republicans win the majority in the State Senate and the General Assembly, voters and the media may be unaware of something that is missing from the debate: racial and gender representation, the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University says.
Focused on the lack of representation for women and minority groups and the need for equitable and expanded access to the ballot, the center held a virtual press briefing in October as part of the center’s monthly press briefing series.
“While the ideal is that the New Jersey Legislature does mirror its population, the reality is that we are far from it,” said Cassandra Etienne, host of the virtual meeting and assistant director for membership and programming at the Center for Cooperative Media.
According to the latest population data, 52.9% of New Jersey residents identify themselves as white, non-Latino, 21.9% as Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% as Black or African American, 10.5% as Asian (currently the fastest growing population in the state), 2.4% with two or more races, 0.7% as American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 0.1% Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders.
New Jersey’s increasing diversity — it is the seventh most diverse state — contrasts with legislative representation, according to the center.
“Out of the 120 state senators and Assembly members who will make up the State Legislature, 70% (or 84 of them) are white, non-Hispanic,” Etienne said.
Latino representation in the State Legislature is 8%, and Asian representation is 2%. Women, who make up 50.7% of the population in New Jersey, hold 30% of the legislative seats. Black lawmakers account for 15% of the Legislature, relatively in line with their presence in the state.
To tackle the discrepancy, working toward a more educated electorate and a more inclusive democracy is necessary, the briefing speakers said. They encouraged supporting bills like the Language Access Bill, the New Jersey Voting Rights Act and grassroots projects that facilitate civic engagement in the elections and amplify the media coverage of emerging leaders.
Initiatives such as NJDecides 2023, a tool that looks at the 120 races for the seats in the State Legislature, had a space in the discussion.
“When voter participation dwindles, our democracy’s foundation weakens, leading to decisions that may not truly represent the collective will of the people,” said Micauri Vargas, an associate counsel of the Democracy and Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
Vargas pointed out that the disengagement of electorates of color in the elections — about 48% of the state’s population — results in policies that fail to address the needs of Black and Brown communities. Dealing with decades of voter disenfranchisement, information accessibility issues and registration deadlines that limit election information and voter turnout must be addressed.
“I can communicate with some of the non-English speaking members of these communities, typically Spanish speakers, and they know very little about what is going on,” Vargas said. “They don’t necessarily have the time to research, especially when there’s very little out there on these issues that are accessible to them.”
Tomas C. Varela Jr., founding executive director for the New Jersey Black Empowerment Coalition and the NJBEC Action Network, talked about the importance of the role of the state as a supportive entity for minority communities to succeed in achieving their individual and collective aspirations.
“I think there is that feeling of America supporting our aspirations and protecting our existence,” Varela said. “Regardless of specific bills and legislation, the overall feeling that communities of color are hoping to accomplish is that feeling of achieving the American dream.”
When asked about candidates of color and the challenges they might face to get into an electoral race, Vargas and Varela agreed that, for immigrant communities of color, the language, cultural differences, and the disparity of income and flexible job schedules versus what white candidates face could translate into a different perception of what being involved with government entails.
“How many jobs will allow them to take two days out of the week to go down to Trenton and work at the Statehouse, and do a committee hearing and be there for votes occasionally?” Vargas said. “When you’re working an hourly job, that’s not something you can do very easily.”
The speakers expect a low turnout in this election due to low media coverage, but they see ways to increase and diversify participation for the 2024 election and beyond. The participation of relatable candidates on the ballot could increase the engagement of minorities in the electoral process. Also, educating legislators on the lived experiences of minorities so they can work for policies that answer the needs of communities of color is also important.
Fostering trust in the system and reinforcing that their vote is significant seems to be the ideal approach for any voter.
“More importantly, it’s our job as organizers and advocates to help demystify the political process and provide some context as to why you should be voting in all elections,” Varela said.
This briefing was part of the “Not Your Same Old Sources” series, a partnership with NJ.com, NJ Ethnic and Community Media and event sponsor Princeton University’s Office of Communications.
Maria Monica Fernandez is a bilingual multimedia journalist based in New York City.
This story is part of the NJ Decides 2023 voting guide, a project of NJ Spotlight News supported in part by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University and funded by the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
