Board of chosen freeholders

In New Jersey, the board of chosen freeholders is the county legislature in each of the state's 21 counties.

Origin 1
Current use 2
Board structure by county 3
See also 4
References 5

Origin

New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States. The origin of the term was in the provisions of the New Jersey State Constitution of 1776, which stated:^[1]

“

That all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money, clear estate in the same, and have resided within the county in which they claim a vote for twelve months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled to vote for Representatives in Council and Assembly; and also for all other public officers, that shall be elected by the people of the county at large. (Emphasis added)

”

The name "freeholder" in the "board of chosen freeholders" is because "clear estate" is also known as a freehold. "Chosen" simply means elected.^[2]

Current use

Today, state law specifies that the boards may contain between three and nine seats. Due to the small sizes of the boards and the possibility of electing an exactly split legislature with the inevitably resulting deadlock, an odd-numbered board is required. The means of election of the freeholders varies from all elected in districts to all elected at large to various systems in between. Elections are first past the post for single-member districts, and for at-large elections when only one seat is at stake. For at-large elections with more than one seat, plurality-at-large voting is used.

Depending on the county, the executive and legislative functions may be performed by the board or split.^[3] In some counties, members of the board of chosen freeholders perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each freeholder assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. In other counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Mercer), there is a directly elected county executive who performs the executive functions while the board of chosen freeholders retains a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an executive, a county administrator (or county manager) may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions. All of the above attributes may be changed by act of the board and a referendum, or by explicit change of the relevant laws by the New Jersey Legislature.

Board structure by county

All freeholders are elected to three-year terms.

County	No. of members	Election frequency	Representation	Notes	References
Atlantic	9	Staggered elections	Five freeholders represent equally populated districts, four are elected at-large	Popularly elected county executive	^[4]
Bergen	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Popularly elected county executive	^[5]
Burlington	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director is elected annually by the board from among its members	^[6]
Camden	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large		^[7]
Cape May	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January	^[8]
Cumberland	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January; appointed county administrator	^[9]
Essex	9	Concurrent elections	Five freeholders represent equally populated districts, four are elected at-large	Freeholder president and vice president serve one-year terms; popularly elected county executive	^[10]
Gloucester	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director
Hudson	9	Concurrent elections	Nine freeholders represent equally populated districts	Popularly elected county executive
Hunterdon	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Mercer	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Board has a chair and vice-chair, these positions are rotated amongst board members each year; popularly elected county executive
Middlesex	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	In January of each year, the board reorganizes, selecting one freeholder to be freeholder director and another to be freeholder deputy director; freeholder director appoints freeholders to serve as chairpersons and members on the various committees which oversee county departments
Monmouth	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Morris	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Ocean	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Appointed county administrator
Passaic	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Salem	7	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	In January of each year, the board reorganizes, selecting one freeholder to be freeholder director and another to be freeholder deputy director; eliminated county administrator position at its 2014 reorganization meeting^[11]
Somerset	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Appointed county administrator
Sussex	5	Staggered elections	Elected at-large
Union	9	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Appointed county manager
Warren	3	Staggered elections	Elected at-large	Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January; appointed county administrator

References

^ Wikisource:New Jersey Constitution of 1776
^ http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2014/11/what_does_a_freeholder_do_9_things_you_might_not_know_about_county_officials.html#incart_river
^ Rinde, Meir (October 27, 2015). "Explainer: What’s a Freeholder? NJ’s Unusual County Government System". NJ Spotlight. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Atlantic County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
^ What Is a Freeholder?, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
^ Burlington County Freeholder Information, Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
^ What is a Freeholder?, Camden County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
^ Freeholders Home Page, Cape May County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
^ What is a County Freeholder?, Cumberland County, New Jersey. Accessed February 3, 2008.
^ Definition of a Freeholder, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
^ Young, Alex. "Salem County freeholders look to 2014 at annual reorganization meeting", South Jersey Times, January 9, 2014. Accessed November 24, 2014. " He replaces Evern Ford, who will leave county government after the board also voted to abolish his county administrator position with a unanimous vote."

Board of chosen freeholders