Many of New Jersey’s Democratic Party organizations are already set to endorse Tammy Murphy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Menendez. The key endorsements would give her preferred placement on primary ballots in the bluest parts of the state, but some members of those same organizations say the process shows New Jersey’s primary elections are deeply undemocratic.

In several of the state’s largest party organizations, the endorsement choice is made by county party bosses — either without any vote, or with only an advisory vote from the hundreds of community leaders meant to guide the party, according to interviews with more than a dozen people involved in the process. 

It gives Tammy Murphy the ballots' coveted "county line," which researchers say gives any candidate a huge advantage, because candidates on the line look more legitimate to voters.