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A federal judge in New Jersey blocked the Justice Department from gaining access to the state’s unredacted voter rolls on Wednesday.
District Judge Zahid Quraishi, a Biden appointee, ruled that handing over the rolls could give rise to privacy concerns for voters. The ruling is the latest defeat for President Donald Trump’s administration after the DOJ sued Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey for access to their voter rolls earlier this year.
The administration argued that Title III of the Civil Rights Act granted federal authorities access to the lists, but Quraishi disagreed.
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“The plain text of Title III applies only to records ‘which come into’ election officers’ ‘possession’ and thus does not extend to New Jersey’s computerized VRL [voter registration list] – a document the State itself created,” Quraishi wrote.
Quraishi’s ruling also comes amid a statewide controversy related to noncitizen voting in New Jersey.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill admitted that week that a “serious software error” led to the mistaken registration of roughly 6,600 noncitizens through the state’s Motor Vehicle System, while the company that provides the identity-related security services denied any wrongdoing.
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“In New Jersey, we absolutely need to have accountability for what happened,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said of the incident. “It was just horrible. There was a big problem with that computer problem that they had. We need to try to address that going forward.”
Sherrill said she immediately ordered an investigation after the error was discovered and that the state’s Division of Elections is removing ineligible voters from the rolls. She said fewer than 400 of those improperly registered cast ballots.
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Reports also surfaced this week that roughly 75,000 noncitizens had been summoned for jury duty through state databases, according to multiple reports, broadening the controversy beyond the Motor Vehicle Commission and prompting additional Republican calls for a wider investigation.
Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.