Board of chosen freeholders


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

Origin

New Jersey's system of naming its county legislative bodies "Boards of Chosen Freeholders" is unique in the United States. The origin of the name can be traced back to a law passed by the General Assembly of the Province of New Jersey on February 28, 1713/14 which stated:
That the Inhabitants of each Town and Precinct, within each County, shall assemble and meet together on the second Tuesday in March yearly and every Year, at the most publick Place of each respective Town and Precinct, and, by the Majority of Voices, choose two Freeholders for every such Town and Precinct for the ensuing Year ; which Freeholders so chosen, or the major Part of them, together with all the Justices of Peace of each respective County, or any three of them shall meet together… .

The term "freeholder" as used in "Board of Chosen Freeholders" originally referred to individuals who owned land in an amount set by law, and was derived from the term freehold. "Chosen" means elected.
The New Jersey State Constitution of 1776, contained the following voter qualification provisions applicable to those voting in New Jersey elections, including county freeholder elections:
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.

On March 3, 1786 a law was passed that incorporated the Justices and Chosen Freeholders of each county as a body politic for the purpose of owning the county courthouse, jail and other public buildings. These bodies were styled as the "Board of Justices and chosen Freeholders" of each respective county.
A law that was passed on February 13, 1798 reincorporated the chosen freeholders into bodies that were named "The Board of Chosen Freeholders" of their respective counties. Under the new law, the functions previously performed by the Justices and the Chosen Freeholders together were now performed by the Freeholders alone. These included the authority to build and maintain jails, court houses and bridges. The Chosen Freeholders were also now given the authority to build and operate poor houses.

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. 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, 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 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.
in July 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy reached an agreement with the Democratic leaders in both houses of the legislature under which the term "Freeholder" would be eliminated and replaced with "county commissioner". The term "freeholder" has been criticized as a vestige of a time when only property owners could be elected, which led to White men controlling political power at a time when women and Black people were unable to own property on their own.
On July 14, 2020, Burlington County Freeholder Director Felicia Hopson announced plans for Burlington County to stop using the "freeholders" title on official communications and materials. The board plans to replace the title with "county commissioner" by passing a resolution at its Aug. 20 meeting.

Structure by county

All freeholders are elected to three-year terms.
CountyNo. of
members		Election frequencyRepresentationNotesReferences
Atlantic9Staggered electionsFive freeholders represent equally populated districts, four are elected at-largePopularly elected Atlantic County Executive
Bergen7Staggered electionsElected at-largePopularly elected Bergen County Executive
Burlington5Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director is elected annually by the board from among its members
Camden7Staggered electionsElected at-large
Cape May5Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Cumberland7Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January; appointed county administrator
Essex9Concurrent electionsFive freeholders represent equally populated districts, four are elected at-largeFreeholder president and vice president serve one-year terms; popularly elected Essex County Executive
Gloucester7Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director
Hudson9Concurrent electionsNine freeholders represent equally populated districtsPopularly elected Hudson County Executive
Hunterdon5Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Mercer7Staggered electionsElected at-largeBoard has a chair and vice-chair, these positions are rotated among board members each year; popularly elected Mercer County Executive
Middlesex7Staggered electionsElected at-largeIn 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
Monmouth5Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Morris7Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Ocean5Staggered electionsElected at-largeAppointed county administrator
Passaic7Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Salem5Staggered electionsElected at-largeIn 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-
Somerset5Staggered electionsElected at-largeAppointed county administrator
Sussex5Staggered electionsElected at-large
Union9Staggered electionsElected at-largeAppointed county manager
Warren3Staggered electionsElected at-largeFreeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January; appointed county administrator