Editing Princeton, New Jersey (section)

===Merger of borough and township===
People in the township tried unsuccessfully to merge borough and township in a struggle that lasted nearly fifty years. The first failed attempt to consolidate borough and township was made in 1953, with 63% of township voters in favor of a merger and 57% of borough voters opposed.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1953/11/04/archives/bingo-for-charity-is-voted-in-jersey-margin-exceeds-21-newark.html "Bingo For Charity Is Voted In Jersey; Margin Exceeds 2-1 -- Newark Approves Shift to a Mayor and Nine Councilmen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308233833/https://www.nytimes.com/1953/11/04/archives/bingo-for-charity-is-voted-in-jersey-margin-exceeds-21-newark.html |date=March 8, 2023 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 4, 1953. Accessed March 8, 2023. "In Princeton, a heated battle over a proposal to consolidate Princeton Borough and Princeton Township into a municipality ended in the plan's defeat. The final vote was 3,463 to 2,312. The borough, a heavily populated area of 1.76 square miles in the center of the 16.25 square-mile township, voted 1,965 to 1,450 against the consolidation. The township registered 1,498 votes against it. and 862 in favor."</ref> Subsequent attempts were voted down by borough residents, in large part due to different zoning needs of the densely populated borough versus the more widely spaced properties of the township (surrounding the borough). An attempt to consolidate in 1979 passed with 70% support in the township but failed in the borough by 33 votes, a result that was upheld after a recount.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120465568/1979-princeton-merger-referendum-results/ "Princeton merger dead"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309003951/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120465568/1979-princeton-merger-referendum-results/ |date=March 9, 2023 }}, ''The Daily Register'', November 7, 1979. Accessed March 8, 2023, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Although voters in Princeton Township endorsed a proposal to consolidate the township with Princeton Borough nearly 2-to-l, the measure was defeated in the borough by a mere 33 votes. The proposal needed majority approval in both municipalities to be instituted. Borough results showed 1,508 votes opposed to the merger with 1,475 in favor. Township voters overwhelmingly approved consolidation, with 3,432 yes votes and 1,444 against."</ref><ref>Fisher, Marc. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120464936/princeton-merger-attempt-fails/ "Princetons: No again on merger"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309003953/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120464936/princeton-merger-attempt-fails/ |date=March 9, 2023 }}, ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', November 8, 1979. Accessed March 8, 2023, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "The fourth attempt in 30 years to consolidate Princeton Borough and Princeton Township failed Tuesday, this time by 33 votes. A proposal to merge was overwhelmingly approved in the township and defeated by 33 votes in the borough."</ref><ref>"Recount Upholds Consolidation's Defeat By 33 Votes as First Reported on Nov. 6", ''[[Town Topics (newspaper)|Town Topics]]'', November 21, 1979, p. 3.</ref> Although township voters again supported a 1996 merger referendum by an almost 3–1 margin, about 57% of borough voters rejected the consolidation proposal, marking the sixth such failure.<ref>Pristin, Terry. [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/06/nyregion/princeton-will-stay-split.html "Princeton Will Stay Split"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308222327/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/06/nyregion/princeton-will-stay-split.html |date=March 8, 2023 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 6, 1996. Accessed March 8, 2023. "Since 1952, Princeton Borough has voted six times against a proposal to merge with Princeton Township. Yesterday, despite speculation that a heavy voter turnout among Princeton University students might reverse that trend, the borough rejected the measure by a vote of 1,878 to 1,418. As it has in the past, the township voted in favor of the proposal; the vote was 4,354 to 1,522. But to be approved, the measure had to be accepted by both municipalities."</ref>

The residents of both the Borough of Princeton and the Township of Princeton voted on November 8, 2011, to merge the two municipalities into one. This was the first referendum when university student voters were encouraged and allowed to register to vote locally, and that likely contributed strongly to the measure passing, as the students were not home owners concerned with zoning matters, and they all counted as part of the borough and not the township. In Princeton Borough, 1,385 voted for and 902 voted against, while in Princeton Township 3,542 voted for and 604 voted against. Proponents of the merger asserted that when the merger is completed the new Municipality of Princeton would save $3.2 million as a result of some scaled down services including layoffs of 15 government workers including 9 police officers (however the measure itself does not mandate such layoffs). Opponents of the measure challenged the findings of a report citing a cost savings as unsubstantiated, expressed concerns about differing zoning needs between borough and township, and noted that voter representation would be reduced in a smaller government structure. The merger was the first in the state since 1997, when [[Pahaquarry Township, New Jersey|Pahaquarry Township]] voted to consolidate with [[Hardwick Township, New Jersey|Hardwick Township]]<ref>Clerkin, Bridget. [https://www.nj.com/mercer/2011/11/princeton_voters_approve_conso.html "Princeton voters approve consolidation of borough, township into one municipality"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117030720/https://www.nj.com/mercer/2011/11/princeton_voters_approve_conso.html |date=November 17, 2019 }}, ''[[The Times (Trenton)|The Times]]'', November 9, 2011, updated March 30, 2019. Accessed November 29, 2019. "Voters in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township approved today a consolidation of the two towns into a single municipality to be known as Princeton.... The referendum passed by a landslide in the township with 3,542 in favor and 604 against. In the borough, 1,385 voted for consolidation and 802 voted against.... This is the fifth time residents of both Princetons have been presented with the question of consolidation at the ballot. If approved by a majority in both municipalities, the merger will be the first in 14 years for New Jersey, since Pahaquarry's seven residents merged into adjacent Hardwick Township in Warren County in 1997.
"</ref> The consolidation took effect on January 1, 2013.<ref name=app>{{cite news |date= November 8, 2011 |title= 2 Princetons vote to merge into 1 town |url=https://6abc.com/archive/8424169/|website=ABC|access-date=December 11, 2024}}</ref>