USA30 July, 20262 min read
Judge Zahid Quraishi Rejects DOJ Request for Unredacted New Jersey Voter Rolls
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District Judge Zahid Quraishi blocked DOJ access to unredacted NJ voter rolls. DOJ suffered its 18th straight defeat in bid for unredacted voter rolls.
DOJ loses voter-roll bid
A federal judge in New Jersey rejected the Department of Justice’s request for unredacted New Jersey voter rolls, siding with the state on privacy concerns for voters if information were handed over unredacted. District Judge Zahid Quraishi, a Biden appointee, wrote that he “joins at least sixteen other district courts including a sister court — and one circuit — in dismissing Plaintiff’s claim,” in a 17-page ruling issued Wednesday.
The dispute stems from a DOJ lawsuit filed in February seeking access to unredacted voter registration data under Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, after New Jersey had turned over voting records with redacted information including Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses. The DOJ argued it was entitled to the information under Title III, but Quraishi said the law “does not extend to New Jersey’s computerized VRL [voter registration list] — a document the State itself created.”
Noncitizen error fuels fight
The ruling came after New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said a Motor Vehicle Commission software failure registered 6,600 noncitizens as eligible voters due to “no fault” of their own, and she said her administration is working to correct the error while still refusing full access to voter rolls.
Sherrill said the DOJ request “had no legal basis, and I will always protect New Jerseyans’ personally identifiable information,” as the DOJ vowed to appeal ahead of midterm elections.
The Washington Examiner reported that roughly 400 of those people cast ballots in at least one subsequent election, and it said the judge ruled the registration error had “no bearing” on whether DOJ could legally force New Jersey to surrender its live, unredacted voter database.
In a letter filed in the lawsuit, Christopher Gardner argued that the state’s disclosure supports a federal investigation into whether New Jersey complied with laws requiring the maintenance of accurate voter rolls and limiting registration to eligible citizens, writing, “The state cannot simultaneously admit that hundreds of federal crimes have been committed by noncitizen voters.”
Appeal and broader fallout
After the dismissal, the DOJ said it would appeal, and the Washington Examiner quoted a DOJ spokesperson saying, “We disagree with the court’s decision and will appeal.” Democracy Docket described the outcome as Trump’s DOJ suffering its 18th defeat with no wins, and it said Quraishi granted New Jersey’s motion to dismiss and denied DOJ’s motion to compel the records.
“We disagree with the court’s decision and will appeal.”
Democracy Docket also reported that the dismissal with prejudice prevents DOJ from refiling the same claim in district court, while the department can appeal, and it said the court held Title III does not give federal access to a continually changing database created and maintained by the state. Fox News added that the judge’s decision blocked DOJ access to New Jersey’s unredacted voter rolls amid the statewide controversy over noncitizen voting, quoting Quraishi’s view that the plain text of Title III “does not extend to New Jersey’s computerized VRL [voter registration list].”