Republican National Committee sues New Jersey for election obfuscation

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Republican National Committee is suing New Jersey for failing to provide public records on the state’s voter roll maintenance practices, according to Chairman Joe Gruters.

“New Jerseyans deserve to know whether their voter rolls are accurate,” Gruters told The Daily Signal. “Clean and transparent voter lists are essential for trust in our elections. The RNC is suing to obtain these records and ensure the state follows the law.”

The RNC is filing an election integrity lawsuit against New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way.

Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires states to remove ineligible voters—such as those who have died or moved out of the jurisdiction—from the voter rolls. Under the act, states must permit the public to inspect records showing how voter rolls are maintained.

The RNC has sent 18 separate records requests to New Jersey asking for information about the Garden State’s list-maintenance efforts, including information about voters who asked to be removed from the rolls.

Way has repeatedly denied these requests, which the RNC says violates federal law and prevents New Jerseyans from knowing whether their voter rolls are accurate and being regularly cleaned.

The RNC is focused on using litigation to help President Donald Trump achieve his goals around election security, an RNC official told The Daily Signal.

In March, the GOP sent records requests to election officials in 48 states and the District of Columbia, seeking information on how states maintain their voter rolls.

Trump signed an executive order in March requiring states to use proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration, setting Election Day as the uniform deadline for receiving ballots in federal elections, and conditioning federal election funding on compliance with those and other election-integrity rules.

The RNC is working to defend Trump’s executive order in states where practices prohibited by the directive continue. While the president is taking the national approach to election integrity, the RNC is coming alongside him with a state-by-state approach.

[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]