RNC Sues New Jersey Election Department
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has initiated legal action against New Jersey’s election department, claiming it has not complied with requests made under the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). This information comes from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In its lawsuit, the RNC mentions that it submitted an initial records request on March 25th, seeking information related to voter role maintenance and voting machine audit logs. Then, on June 3, they made another request. However, there was no response from New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way for over three months. The lawsuit states that on June 16 and July 3, the RNC reiterated its request, but only received partial responses to three out of the eighteen initial queries.
Additionally, the RNC contacted the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate potential noncompliance with the National Voter Registration Act, especially since New Jersey reportedly has a much higher voter registration rate compared to national averages. They also reached out for clarifications regarding the state’s refusal to adhere to the OPRA.
“State officials have been slow to provide access to voting machines and voter maintenance records,” stated RNC Chairman Michael Whatley. “We believe New Jersey residents deserve transparency, ensuring that their elections comply with legal standards.”
The OPRA, established in New Jersey in 2002, mandates that record custodians fulfill requests within seven days. However, it appears the election division ignored the RNC’s requests.
The lawsuit points out that the defendant has not provided the RNC with necessary audit logs regarding voting machine seals and the protocols for managing voter records, as required by law.
This legal move follows an RNC investigation into election integrity that began in May. The RNC plans to send requests to election officials in 48 states and the District of Columbia, seeking documentation on how they manage and update voter rolls. New Jersey is noted as having not complied with these requests. Previously, the RNC also sued Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in June over similar compliance issues.
