Politics of New Jersey moderate Republicans. The 1980s Asian-Americans immigrated to the northeastern and central parts of the state. These often voted Democratic. Today, the [[New Jersey State Legislature|state legislature]] is overwhelmingly Democratic, and has been since the early 2000s. As of December 2016, there are over 860,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. Democrats do well in the populous counties closer to New York City and Philadelphia, like [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex]] and [[Camden County, New Jersey|Camden]] counties as well as in Mercer County, which has the state capital Trenton. Republicans do well along the [[Jersey Shore]] and in northwestern counties, like [[Morris County,
Capital punishment in New Jersey measure was passed by the legislature on January 10, 2006. Governor of New Jersey Richard Codey signed the measure into law on January 12. New Jersey became the first state to pass such a moratorium legislatively, rather than by executive order. Although New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982, the state has not executed anyone since 1963. The abolition vote was recommended by a report from the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission. On December 17, 2007, following the passage of an abolition bill that passed in the General Assembly by a 44–36 margin, Governor Jon Corzine signed the