After the passing of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) will first appoint someone to replace him temporarily and then will be in charge of holding a Senate election for a permanent replacement.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and NJ Working Families Alliance have launched a petition and online ads calling on Christie to hold the Senate election during the November 5th gubernatorial election this year. Here’s a portion of a PCCC email sent today arguing for a November 2013 Senate election:

New Jersey deserves representation in the U.S. Senate that is chosen by the people — as many New Jerseyans as possible — in a way that does not waste millions of taxpayer dollars that could be spent on education and jobs.

Can you sign our petition with the NJ Working Families Alliance urging Governor Christie to allow voters to elect a senator duringAi??the general election onAi??November 5, 2013?

It’s been reported that the governor could push the special election to 2014 in order to depress voter turnout when he is on the ballot in 2013.

Or, he could waste millions of taxpayer dollars on a special election one month before this year’s general election.

Again, this would be so that fewer voters participate in both elections and Republicans have a better chance.

And here’s a snippet from a New Jersey Working Families Alliance email today:

New Jerseyans deserve to elect their senator this year in a way that ensures maximum participation and doesn’t waste public dollars that should be going to creating the jobs this state desperately needs.

Indeed, New Jersey’s 2009 gubernatorial election hadAi??a turnout rate of around 46 percentAi??– and this was in a governor’s race with historically low turnout. In 2010, this dropped toAi??a turnout rate of 37.8 percent.

UPDATE: Christie has announced that he will be holding the Senate election on October 16, 2013.

Sign the petition asking Christie to hold the election this year, on November 5th, 2013.

Chip in a few dollars to help run online ads urging Christie to hold the election this year.