De-escalation: Judge Quraishi dismisses DOJ New Jersey voter-data suit

U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking New Jersey’s unredacted voter registration database. He dismissed the case with prejudice, barring a refiling in district court, though an appeal is still possible. New Jersey had already provided the public voter list; the suit sought private fields like driver’s license numbers, birth dates, and parts of Social Security numbers.

Quraishi held that the Civil Rights Act of 1960 provision the government cited does not let it force New Jersey to turn over a live database the state maintains. That law covers records that come into election officials’ hands, like registration applications, not a constantly updated list the state creates. Treating the list as a preserved record would also conflict with other federal laws that require regular updates to voter rolls.

He also said New Jersey’s recent disclosure that about 6,600 people were mistakenly registered and roughly 400 voted did not change the legal question before him. He granted the state’s motion to dismiss and denied the government’s motion to compel the records. The Justice Department said it will appeal.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources