NEWARK, N.J. – The Republican National Committee and New Jersey Republican State Committee are taking the Sherrill Administration to federal court, this time demanding records detailing how the Garden State maintains its troubled voter rolls.
The complaint – filed Tuesday in federal court – names Secretary of State and Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell, along with election officials in Bergen, Middlesex, Hudson, Union and Somerset counties. Congressman Tom Kean Jr. (R-7) and state Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco (R-25) are also plaintiffs.
At issue are July 31 requests made under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) seeking records concerning voter-roll maintenance, including registrants removed from the rolls, inactive voters, address-confirmation notices and data used to identify deceased, relocated and noncitizen registrants.
The lawsuit argues that federal law is straightforward: states must make available for public inspection “all records” concerning programs designed to ensure the accuracy and currency of voter rolls.
Republicans allege New Jersey’s response has been anything but transparent.
“For six weeks, the Secretary of State’s office did not acknowledge the request,” the complaint alleges. When Caldwell’s office finally responded on September 15 — the final day of the federal statutory cure period — it produced two voter lists but “objected to or denied every other category of the request,” according to the filing.
The complaint paints an equally critical picture of the counties. Middlesex allegedly “produced nothing”; Union refused several categories on the grounds that production would substantially disrupt its operations; and Hudson produced only a portion of the requested material before the federal cure period expired.
One particularly noteworthy dispute involves noncitizens.
The Division of Elections told Republicans that the statewide voter registration system does not include non-U.S. citizenship as a deletion reason and therefore cannot automatically produce a list of everyone deleted on that basis. The plaintiffs counter that the state nevertheless possesses information identifying individuals removed because they were noncitizens and contend that federal law requires its production.
The filing comes amid continuing scrutiny of New Jersey’s voter registration system following the MVC registration glitch involving thousands of individuals who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens.
“As of the filing of this lawsuit, the cure period has expired,” the plaintiffs conclude, alleging that “no Defendant has cured his or her violation.” They are asking the federal court for declaratory and injunctive relief compelling state and county officials to turn over the requested records.
With Election Day approaching and questions surrounding New Jersey’s voter rolls still unresolved, Republicans are now asking a federal judge to force more of the underlying records into public view.
Click here to view the full complaint.
