Rahway Ballot Lawsuit Heads to Court Monday as Lawyers Spar Over Whose Rights Come First
The attorney for the official who challenged independent candidate Hope Moran’s petition says she had time to fix her signatures. Her attorney says if that were the case, then the window closed before the challenge was even filed.
A June 2026 photograph of Rahway City Hall. An independent candidate for mayor is suing to get back on the November ballot. (The Central Jerseyan)
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Chris Howell | June 21, 2026
Lawyers traded arguments ahead of Monday’s court hearing that could put independent Rahway mayoral candidate Hope Moran back on the ballot.
The attorney fighting to keep Moran off the ballot argued in court papers Friday that she missed the legal window to fix the problems with her nominating petition signatures. Her attorney fired back Saturday, calling the argument “Orwellian.”
Moran, who confirmed the lawsuit, said tracking down the names on the challenged ballots has been an ordeal. “I’m sorry, it has been the roughest week of my life,” she said.
A Superior Court judge will hear oral argument Monday morning at the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. The outcome will determine whether Hope Moran appears on the Nov. 3 general election ballot in a race that also includes incumbent Rahway Mayor Raymond Giacobbe Jr. and Republican candidate Casey Granieri.
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In the brief filed Friday with Judge John M. Deitch, attorney Kraig Dowd of Weber Dowd Law in Woodland Park, representing challenger Robert Rachlin, argued that New Jersey law gives candidates three days after their petition deadline to fix defects. That window ran through June 5, Dowd argued, and Moran made no attempt to use it.
Alan Levy, Moran’s attorney, called that argument a legal impossibility. Rachlin did not file his challenge until June 8, three days after Dowd’s alleged deadline had passed. The New Jersey Supreme Court has held that candidates must be given a “realistic opportunity” to fix defects, Levy wrote, which cannot begin before a candidate knows there is a problem.
Levy also argued that Rachlin lacks legal standing to oppose Moran’s application at all. The statute authorizing court review of the County Clerk’s petition determinations is available only to candidates, he wrote. Rachlin is not a candidate. The Union County Clerk’s office, the other named defendant, filed no opposition of its own and has not disputed any of Moran’s allegations, Levy said.
On the disputed signatures themselves, Levy argued that Rachlin has the legal burden of proving the three voters are ineligible, not the other way around. New Jersey courts require clear and convincing evidence to strip a voter of their right to sign a petition, he wrote. All three voters have submitted sworn certifications and have state-issued voter identification numbers confirming their registration in Rahway.
From left: Hope Moran, Rahway Mayor Raymond Giacobbe, Casey Granieri. (Credit: Alan Levy)
Levy, a Republican candidate for Rahway City Council in November who is in his own legal battle with local officials, addressed the case in a Facebook post. “I could not sit idly by at this affront to democracy, and as a lawyer, there’s something I can do about it,” he wrote.
The Central Jerseyan first reported on the lawsuit on Wednesday. Moran filed suit in Superior Court on June 15 after the Union County Clerk’s office ruled that her nominating petition contained only 247 valid signatures, three short of the 250 required to appear on the general election ballot.
The disqualification was triggered by a written challenge filed June 8 by Rachlin, a Rahway resident whose current membership on the Union County Democratic Committee is confirmed by the committee’s official roster published on the county clerk’s elections website. Public records show Rachlin works for the Union County Department of Economic Development. The Union County Clerk’s office did not return a request for comment.
Rachlin served as a Rahway city councilman from 1997 through 2012 and has been a Rahway resident since 1987, according to his biography on the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority website, where he is listed as a commissioner. His attorney, Kraig Dowd, declined to comment when The Central Jerseyan contacted him last week.
Moran’s lawsuit argues that at least three of the 49 signatures invalidated by the Clerk were wrongly rejected. The three voters have each submitted sworn certifications confirming their Rahway registrations. One voter, Dowd’s brief argues, is not registered under the name and address as written on the petition. Levy’s complaint says the voter signed under her married name while registered under her maiden name. Another voter’s last name was partially obscured on the petition, Dowd noted, and that voter listed a post office box rather than a street address. Two of the three were flagged as inactive voters, a designation Levy argues carries no legal weight in this case.
In a Facebook post last Sunday, Moran said the challenge had forced her to confront an unexpected political reality.
“The Republican Party has been more cooperative and helpful toward me than the Democratic Party,” she wrote. “Members of my own party are the ones objecting to my participation in the democratic process.”
A ruling is expected Monday. The Central Jerseyan will report on the outcome.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.