Freeholder

Freeholder may refer to:

Board of chosen freeholders

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

Origin

New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States. The origin of the term was in the provisions of the New Jersey State Constitution of 1776, which stated:

The name "freeholder" in the "board of chosen freeholders" is because "clear estate" is also known as a freehold. "Chosen" simply means elected.

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.