Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a bill that makes changes to the state’s primary election system with the primaries just three months away.

More than 75 advocacy groups wrote the governor urging him to use his power to conditionally veto the bill. Their Feb. 28 letter asked Murphy to help create a “fair ballot on New Jersey.” The governor did not respond to it.

The signing comes one year after the courts found the long-standing county-line ballot format unconstitutional.

The new bill takes away the power of voters to select a party’s state committee members. These individuals will now be selected by partisan county committee members, the same group that lost considerable power with the demise of the county-line format.

The new law maintains the ability of candidates to be “bracketed” with each other and have ballot positions determined by a single draw instead of individually. The bill also bars candidates from using slogans that contain the name of a candidate for another office, a move aimed at Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who is running with a slate of Assembly candidates who will now not be able to use his name in their slogans on the ballot.

Opponents see this as an incumbent-friendly bill that in the absence of the party-line format still keeps a thumb on the scale, giving power back to the county bosses.

None of the usual fanfare was present as Murphy affixed his signature to the bill. The governor’s press release did not contain the usual statement about the good the bill was going to do for the Garden State.

In February Murphy signed a bill that more than doubled the number of signatures a candidate needs to get on the ballot. The bill took effect even as petitions were already circulating. Again, opponents saw the move as friendly to incumbents.

In the June primaries, candidates for all 80 seats in the Assembly will be before the voters, along with the candidates for governor.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.