New Jersey is dropping its requirement that candidates for office sign an oath that includes the words “so help me God” in filing paperwork for their candidacy.
NJ.com reported Wednesday that the state Division of Elections is no longer requiring candidates to sign that oath, allowing them to make “a solemn affirmation or declaration” instead.
The state was being sued by James Tosone, a 70-year-old northern New Jersey man who said he plans to run for Congress in 2024 as a Libertarian. But as a nontheist, he said, he cannot sign part of the petition including a religious oath.
In an Oct. 24 memo to all county clerks in New Jersey, Lauren Zyriek, acting director of the state’s Division of Elections, said the religious oath is no longer required.
"In the affirmation or declaration, the words ‘so help me God’ shall be omitted,” the memo reads.
Tosone, who lives in Washington Township in Bergen County, dropped his lawsuit against the state this week.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan is calling on the assistant U.S. attorney for Delaware, Lesley Wolf, to appear before the committee by Dec. 7 to respond to allegations that she interfered in the yearslong case into the president’s son.
Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for a four-day halt to the devastating war in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages held by the militant group as well as Palestinian prisoners.
New Jersey will prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 as part of an effort to improve air quality and reduce planet-warming pollutants, officials announced Tuesday.
The leader of Hamas said that a truce agreement is close and would reportedly include a multi-day ceasefire and the release of at least 50 hostages in exchange for Palestinian women and children detained in Israel.
