The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against the Division of Elections in New Jersey on Thursday.
The RNC took the legal action after the Garden State’s DOE failed to “produce records on voter roll maintenance and election integrity.” The state was obligated to do so due to the Open Public Records Act, according to a press release from the RNC. The OPRA in New Jersey mandates that “state and local government entities” are mandated to provide public records upon request.
According to the release, the RNC was seeking data from the state’s June primary election, specifically requesting “log data from voting machines used in the state’s June primary election and information about voter roll maintenance from the Division of Elections.” The state did not comply, and, subsequently, the RNC filed the lawsuit.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley commented on the lawsuit, claiming citizens of New Jersey deserve transparency from the state’s elected officials and accused the state’s government officials of “slow walking” the voter information requested.
“The people of New Jersey deserve to have transparency and accountability in their elections,” Whatley said in a statement. “State officials are slow walking access to records about voting machines and voter roll maintenance. The RNC is taking legal action because the people of New Jersey have a right to know that their elections are being run fairly, securely, and in full compliance with the law.”
Whatley was in attendance at a “Protect the Vote” training event in New Jersey on Thursday night.
“We need transparency in elections, but NJ officials are refusing access to records,” Whatley posted on X on Thursday. “New Jersey has the right to know that their elections are being run securely.”
Additionally, the RNC sent two separate letters to state and federal officials regarding the matter in an attempt to retrieve the requested election data.
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One letter was sent to the New Jersey Secretary of State “demanding an explanation for the State’s failure to comply with federal law,” the press release noted. Another letter was sent to the Department of Justice calling for an investigation into the incident, explicitly accusing the New Jersey Secretary of State of violating the National Voter Registration Act by not providing the requested information “pertaining to the state’s voter list maintenance system.”
“New Jersey has ignored the RNC’s requests for transparency, blocking the RNC’s ability to verify voting machines and ensure that voter rolls are being maintained,” noted the release.