Jamie Ding, the reigning champion on Jeopardy!, is now at the center of a federal court fight on voter privacy, joining a group of intervenors seeking to block the U.S. Department of Justice from obtaining the state’s complete voter registration list, a database that includes sensitive personal information on over 6.6 million New Jerseyans.
At issue is an extraordinary demand from the Trump administration, which has asked a federal judge to compel Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, the Secretary of State, to turn over its entire statewide voter file — an unredacted database containing voters’ names, addresses, dates of birth, and in some cases partial Social Security and driver’s license numbers — arguing the information is necessary to review the state’s compliance with federal election laws.
Lawyers for the state have rebuffed the request, arguing it violates New Jersey privacy laws and longstanding protections for voter data, and warning that turning over such sensitive information could expose residents to misuse, undermine trust in elections, and deter people from registering or voting at all.
A long list of potential intervenors, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New Jersey, Salvation and Social Justice, and individual New Jersey voters like Ding, worry that the data could be used to disenfranchise voters, or for immigration enforcement, denaturalization, or political retaliation. They are going to file a motion to dismiss the case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Quinn, who conducted a 45-minute conference with attorneys this afternoon, is expected to decide whether the ACLU and others can be intervenors rather than just file an amicus brief. The Justice Department is not opposing that motion.
“We could foresee a world where the state defendant would face certain pressures or obligations that might induce them to consider compromises or settlements that the proposed intervenor defendants wouldn’t consider, and at that point, even if we were amicus, we would be essentially locked out of the case,” said Liza Weisberg, an ACLU attorney. “We think that the stakes are really high here.”
Ding won his 28th straight Jeopardy! victory last night; his winnings now total $774,601. He filed his motion to intervene on March 6, one week before his first appearance on the TV quiz show. He had already taped more than 20 episodes when he decided to join the lawsuit.
Court records reveal the partisan side of Ding beyond his state job as a project manager at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. He says he is “politically active,” attends events, and “donates to causes I care about.” He became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
“I am a Democrat and have been outspoken in criticizing this administration when I disagree with its stances,” Ding said in his court certification. “I have grave misgivings about the actions of the current administration and, consequently, what they may do with sensitive information contained within voter registration files.”
Ding said in a court filing that he has seen reports of the Trump administration misusing and mishandling sensitive and confidential information, and I fear that similar things may happen to my voter data.”
“Individuals in or aligned with the federal government have demonstrated a willingness to retaliate against people based on their political views,” said Ding, who indicated concerns about New Jersey’s immigrant community. “I believe this administration views immigrants—including naturalized citizens like me—with disdain and distrust. I am concerned that the Department of Justice may try to use this information to target naturalized citizens like me and to attempt to remove us from the voter rolls. I think there is a real danger that the federal government will weaponize this information against individuals.”
Prominent New Jersey election law expert Raj Parikh and his firm, PEM Law, are representing Ding, along with Omeed Alerasool of Elias Law Group.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi.