Well, this election is hardly over, but momentum is already building for next year's governor's race, with a number of high profile names in the mix and even more expected to join, the June primary could see a ballot loaded with choices.

The big question, though, is what will that ballot look like?

State lawmakers met this week to discuss overhauling the layout after a successful court challenge upended the so-called party line.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis reports.

Judge Quraishi clearly defined what constitutes a fair ballot, and the verdict was unanimously upheld by an appellate court with separate and equal draw for each candidate, for each office.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop testified at a hearing this week on the federal ruling that did away with the county line the grouping of candidates based on party endorsements.

It leaves the question, though, how should ballots be designed going forward?

The special Joint Assembly Select Committee on Ballot Design held its third hearing to get input.

I strongly urge the committee to simplify the ballot design.

A clearer ballot would not only make voting more accessible, but would also empower more of us to participate confidently in our democracy.

Grouping candidates by office, as is common in many other states, would make the ballot more user friendly.

Many who have testified before this committee are asking that New Jersey follow the office block model that nearly all other states use.

Julius Rubin from Rutgers University has been among them.

The position would be at the top.

There would be names of all the candidates beneath that.

It would be clear visually for people to look at it and understand what the position is, How many people this you should vote for.

So the instruction should be right at the top, and it would rotate the order of those names by voting precinct, because that way going first, which we know is an advantage, would not disproportionately benefit anybody.

But others argue some type of grouping of down ballot candidates would be okay.

These would be offices like New Jersey's Assembly County commissioners or school board positions.

Senator Jon Bramnick, a Republican gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey's 2025 election, agrees.

The legislature here and many people believe that if you want to assign yourself or work with another candidate, the legislature saying, well, you know, why don't we have some options that people can actually align themselves with another candidate?

I don't think that's subverting anything.

I think it's looking into some potentially potential ways to change what we have in terms of just pure box voting.

Does it limit the voter's choice?

Does it limit their access to a free and open and fair election?

Some relationships between candidates.

I don't think fundamentally changes the Federal Court's position.

The entire line across the ballot clearly has influence to people running together.

Now, I don't think clearly as much.

But full up spoke out in opposition of that grouping and even called into question the integrity of holding these hearings at all.

It's for this reason that there is great skepticism over the intent of this committee.

If the goal was to codify the ruling of Judge Quraishi then a committee wouldn't really be necessary on that front.

But if there's intent to circumvent like some think there is, then clearly this is the process that one would pursue.

He's urging the complete random assignment of candidates on the ballot, excluding any special indicators or groupings.

That include special marks, preferences of ballot position within blocked ballot or bracketing of candidates.

That gives one candidate a visual advantage over another.

His opponent for governor in 2025.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is on his team on this matter.

Really have to pass in front of us, right?

We could attempt to manipulate and build a line by another name, knowing that it creates barriers to true democratic choice and reinforce a sense of disenfranchisement among voters.

Or we could end this practice now.

No political maneuvering, no more power plays.

Timing is really critical because the primary is coming up in just a few months.

And given that the clerks protested when Andy Kim filed his lawsuit in February and said that it was not enough time for them to adjust the ballot, the legislature, really, whatever they do, they're going to have to do it very fast.

The fourth and final committee hearing will be held on Monday, somewhere in South Jersey, before legislators propose a new ballot design.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Gagis.