New Jersey State Legislature Doesn't Represent Constituents, Stockton Study Finds

Galloway, Township, NJ -- The 216th New Jersey State Legislature is older, less ethnically diverse, more predominantly male, and better educated than the average New Jersey citizen, according to research published by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University on Tuesday.

The report, “New Jersey State Legislature: A Demographic Profile, 2016 Update,” builds on last year’s study that found that in spite of some turnover in the Assembly, New Jersey’s Legislature does not demographically resemble the constituents it represents.

The research was conducted by John Froonjian and Kevin Coopersmith of the William J. Hughes Center.

However, there is one change that moves the Legislature in a seemingly younger direction.

The 216th Legislature has more of a social media presence than its predecessor, with 90 percent of legislators having a Facebook page, according to the report. That number represents a 7 percent increase.

Additionally, 74 percent of legislators use Twitter, an increase of 14 percent.

The researchers compiled a database of demographic characteristics of all 120 members of the state Senate and General Assembly, and compared those characteristics with the general population. The database includes new members as of February 22, 2016. The data were obtained through research of the state Legislature’s website (www.njleg.state.nj.us/), from individual legislator’s Web pages, from Fitzgerald’s Legislative Manual (Skinder-Strauss Associates, Newark, N.J.) and from interviews with legislative staff.

“With all 120 seats up for election, only 12 seats, or 10 percent of both houses, were filled by someone new,” Froonjian said in a release issued by the university. “And in terms of demographics, the new people looked remarkably similar to the legislators they replaced.”

The New Jersey state Legislature experienced year-to-year turnover of 12 Assembly seats. In last November’s elections, Democrats won four new Assembly seats, leading to a 65-35 split in favor of Democrats over Republicans.

Statistically speaking, the Legislature has different characteristics than the general population it represents:

· The New Jersey state Legislature is on average 18 years older than the average New Jersey citizen (average legislator age is 57 compared to 39 statewide);

· The State Legislature is 70 percent male, compared to 49 percent in the general population, a difference of 21 percentage points;

· The Legislature is 83 percent white, while 69 percent of the state’s general population is white, a 14-percentage-point difference;

· 81 percent of New Jersey legislators have their bachelor degree or higher, more than double the 36 percent of the population who are college graduates;

· In terms of party affiliation, 63 percent of New Jersey legislators are Democrats, while only 33 percent of N.J.’s population is a member of the Democratic Party.

· 63 percent of the Legislature attained a graduate/professional degree or higher, with the juris doctorate degree the most common (33 percent) across both houses;

· 57 percent of college-graduate legislators completed their bachelor degree out of state;

· 59 percent of college-graduate legislators attended private academic institutions for the bachelor degree;

· When it comes to occupation, attorney (27 percent) is the most represented in the Legislature. Full-time legislator (19 percent), executive/management positions (15) and consultant (8 percent) were among the next most common;

· 13 percent of New Jersey legislators have served in the military, about double the percentage of veterans in the general population; and

· 33 percent of the legislators have served for five or fewer years; 7.5 percent have served for 26 or more years.

The 2016 report can be downloaded at www.stockton.edu/hughescenter. It contains supplemental graphs and charts.