DOJ sues N.J. for unredacted voter rolls

The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Jersey for the second time this week, this time to demand unredacted versions of the state’s voter files.

The DOJ has filed similar suits against 28 other states and the District of Columbia, several of which have been thrown out. The DOJ says the Civil Rights Act of 1960 allows the attorney general to inspect and analyze statewide voter registration lists, but the states (and some federal judges) have said their requests go far beyond the spirit and letter of the law.

“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a release. “This latest series of litigation underscores that This Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country.”

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the state will fight the lawsuit in court.

“As several courts have already held, the Department of Justice’s request for voters’ personal information, including their driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, is baseless,” Davenport said. “We are committed to protecting the privacy of our state’s residents, and we will defend against this lawsuit in court.”

Federal judges have dismissed the DOJ’s voter roll lawsuits in Oregon, California, and Michigan. In California, a federal judge wrote that the centralization of confidential data could pose a risk to the country’s voters and democracy. In Oregon, District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai determined that the DOJ indicated that it could use sensitive voter roll information for immigration law enforcement, despite its promises otherwise.

“Plaintiff’s words and actions outside of the four corners of its Complaint in this case, including statements that it intends to create a nationwide database of confidential voter information and use it in unprecedented ways, including immigration enforcement efforts, is chilling,” Kasubhai wrote in Oregon, according to Democracy Docket. “The possibility that Oregon’s voter registration list could be used to further these efforts in the absence of congressional action, may very well lead to an erosion of voting rights and voter participation.”

The DOJ is appealing those rulings.

Earlier this week, the DOJ sued Gov. Mikie Sherrill over an executive order that limits how federal immigration agents can use state-owned property.