PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A federal judge has dismissed a Trump administration suit to access New Jersey’s voter data, amid renewed federal requests after the state discovered 6,600 noncitizens on its voter rolls.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey had asked a district court to reconsider its previously dismissed lawsuit seeking access to unredacted New Jersey voter data. District Judge Zahid Quaraishi on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department’s latest attempt.
The latest developments came a week after Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced the initial discovery, though she noted only about 400 of those non-citizens voted. According to Sherrill, they were improperly registered due to a Motor Vehicle Commission software error.
The governor’s office said it has asked that county election officials review the rest to make sure no citizens are accidentally misidentified and disenfranchised.
“Just as we have an obligation to remove everyone who is not eligible to vote, we also have a responsibility to protect the voting rights of eligible New Jersey citizens and ensure no one is improperly removed from the rolls,” said Sherrill in a statement on Tuesday, “and we are going to do just that.”
New Jersey is one of 30 states the White House has sued — in addition to the District of Columbia — to gain access to voter data and one of 17 cases that have been dismissed, along with Pennsylvania.
“We are grateful for the district court’s decision, which correctly found that DOJ’s demand for voters’ personal information lacked support in federal law. Every court to consider the question, now totaling 17 district courts and a federal court of appeals, have unanimously rejected this clear federal overreach,” said Attorney General Jennifer Davenport in a statement.
Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said he believes the federal government’s interest in the list is connected to its aggressive immigration enforcement policies.
“They have shown in their immigration enforcement around the country that they want to know about anybody who has committed any infraction, and that they become identified for deportation,” he said.
Rasmussen said that none of the state’s elections for president, governor, House or Senate were decided by less than 400 votes, and it is unlikely any statewide races were impacted.
He also pointed out noncitizens were improperly registered when applying for a driver’s license, in effect, a government agent asking them if they wanted to be registered to vote.
“The governor is making the argument: we are not looking to expose anybody to any sort of danger with the federal government's enforcement right now through something that they may not be responsible for, or that the state may share some responsibility for,” he said.
The governor’s office has launched a website for people who have been affected by the error. Sherrill said MVC has also mailed letters to those affected.
“As I said last week, this is what accountable government looks like,” she said. “We inherited a problem. We didn't hide it. We didn't deny it. We're investigating it. And we’re going to fix it, the right way.”
