Federal judge dismisses RNC voter roll grab in New Jersey

In a win for voters, a federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee (RNC) seeking to force New Jersey to release sensitive voter data.

U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner, a Biden appointee, determined the RNC lacked standing to bring its case under the National Voter Registration Act’s public-disclosure requirements after it tried twice to access voter roll information from the state.

“Here, Plaintiff not only fails to allege concrete plans for how it intends to use the specific records in this case, but it also fails to allege how Defendant’s failure to provide those records impairs its ability to increase voter participation,” wrote Castner. “So it has not satisfied its burden of alleging the information injury needed to confer Article III standing.”

The defendant, New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way (D), refused to provide all but two voter record categories the RNC requested first in March 2025 and then again in June 2025.

In its request letters, the RNC also asked for voter names who had requested to be removed and who had actually been removed from state voter registration lists since June 2023.

“This information is also essential to the RNC’s efforts to ensure election integrity and advocacy for election administration improvements,” the RNC’s November 2025 complaint read.

However, Castner rejected this claim, noting that the issue had already been decided in another state.

“Plaintiff’s remaining allegations — ensuring compliance with the NVRA and election integrity — were squarely rejected by the Third Circuit,” wrote Castner.

This 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ rejection refers to a similar case in Pennsylvania, which Castner called “almost identical” to the one in New Jersey. In Pennsylvania’s case, the right-wing legal group Public Interest Legal Foundation tried to force access to voter records but was shot down by a three-judge panel for lack of standing.

The cases in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania reflect a broader and largely unsuccessful push by Republicans and the Department of Justice to force voter roll purges across states. 

Castner’s Monday ruling mirrors decisions by judges appointed by both parties across the country who have rejected attempts to seize voter data through the courts.