Federal judge throws out Trump administration lawsuit seeking New Jersey voter database

⚖️ A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking New Jersey's voter registration database.

🗳️ The ruling comes as New Jersey faces heightened scrutiny over thousands of mistaken voter registrations.

📋 The Justice Department is separately seeking records tied to nearly 400 noncitizens who cast ballots.

TRENTON — A federal judge has handed New Jersey a significant victory in its legal battle with the Trump administration over access to the state's voter registration records, dismissing a lawsuit that sought to force the state to hand over its entire voter registration database.

In a 17-page opinion issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi ruled that the Department of Justice lacked legal authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to compel New Jersey to produce its computerized statewide voter registration list, dismissing the case with prejudice.

The ruling comes a week after Gov. Mikie Sherrill disclosed that a software error at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission mistakenly registered about 6,600 non-citizens to vote between June 2023 and June 2024, thrusting New Jersey into the center of the national debate over election integrity.

The federal lawsuit was filed months before the software error became public. And the Justice Department, meanwhile, is separately requesting that the state hand over the names and addresses of nearly 400 noncitizens who voted because of the MVC error. The Sherrill administration has denied that request as well.

"I will always fight to protect New Jerseyans' personally identifiable information," Sherrill said after the judge's ruling.

State Attorney General Jennifer Davenport noted that 17 district courts and an appeals court have so far "unanimously rejected this clear federal overreach."

Judge says federal law doesn't cover New Jersey's voter database

The lawsuit stemmed from a request the Justice Department made last year for a complete electronic copy of New Jersey's voter registration list, including confidential information such as driver's license numbers and portions of Social Security numbers.

State officials refused, arguing the federal government lacked authority to demand the information and that releasing it would conflict with state privacy laws.

Quraishi agreed.

The judge concluded that the Civil Rights Act provision relied upon by the Justice Department applies only to election records that come into the possession of election officials, not to a computerized voter registration database created and continuously maintained by the state.

Separate dispute continues over noncitizen voter records

The court's decision does not end the broader dispute between New Jersey and the Trump administration over election records.

The governor has said the erroneous registrations are being removed from the voter rolls after a preliminary review found fewer than 400 of the affected individuals voted.

The disclosure drew national attention, with Vice President JD Vance citing the New Jersey case while urging Congress to pass the Republican-backed SAVE America Act.

What the lawsuit was about

According to the court's opinion, the Justice Department first contacted New Jersey in July 2025 seeking the state's computerized voter registration list as part of a review of compliance with federal election laws.

New Jersey provided portions of the voter registration file but withheld confidential personal information, including driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

The Justice Department later sued, arguing Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 gave it broad authority to obtain those records.

Acting Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Civil Rights Division investigating voter integrity, responded to Sherrill's statement on X.

"All you are protecting here is illegitimate voters who cancelled out the votes of your own state’s citizens, in violation of federal law. Whose side are you on, Governor? And how big is this problem, really?" Dhillon said. "Stay tuned. This isn’t over."