DOJ sues NJ secretary of state seeking court order for statewide voter list records
DOJ seeks a court order compelling production of statewide voter registration list records under the Civil Rights Act; the case is pending.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit on February 26, 2026, seeking a court order that would require New Jersey to produce records from its Statewide Voter Registration List (the “SVRL”), including “all fields” the department says it demanded in earlier letters.
The case, United States v. Caldwell, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (D.N.J.) as a statutory records-demand enforcement action under the Civil Rights Act record-demand provisions, according to the complaint. The defendant is Dale G. Caldwell, sued in his official capacity as New Jersey’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state, court documents indicate.
The complaint says DOJ is seeking the SVRL records to assess New Jersey’s compliance with federal voter-registration list maintenance requirements, including those in the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Federal courts in California, Michigan, and Oregon have recently dismissed lawsuits by the Department of Justice that sought to force states to hand over full, unredacted voter registration lists, including sensitive personal data. Those rulings signal growing judicial resistance to the DOJ’s broader campaign to obtain private voter information from dozens of states, with judges warning the efforts could threaten voter privacy and state control of elections.
What DOJ demanded—and what it says New Jersey did not produce
According to the complaint, DOJ sent a written demand and later renewed it seeking the state’s SVRL data with “all fields,” including:
- full name
- date of birth
- address
- a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number (which the filing describes as required under HAVA to register individuals for federal elections)
The complaint frames those data elements as part of what DOJ requested; the excerpted filing does not address whether DOJ proposed redactions, safeguards, or a protective order for sensitive identifiers. 1
Why DOJ says it needs the Voter Rolls
The complaint states DOJ’s demand authority arises under the Civil Rights Act, but says the purpose of the request is “to ascertain compliance with the list maintenance requirements of the NVRA and HAVA.” In other words, DOJ says it used the Civil Rights Act’s record-demand mechanism as a tool to obtain election-administration records for a compliance review tied to NVRA/HAVA list-maintenance obligations. 1
The filing also states the attorney general has authority to enforce multiple federal elections statutes, including the Civil Rights Act (52 U.S.C. § 20703), the NVRA (52 U.S.C. § 20510(a)), and Title III of HAVA (52 U.S.C. § 21111). 2
Timeline described in the complaint
The complaint lays out a two-letter sequence leading up to the lawsuit:
- July 15, 2025: DOJ sent a letter, and Donna Barber, identified as executive director for the New Jersey Division of Elections, emailed confirmation of receipt, according to the complaint. 1
- August 14, 2025: The attorney general sent another letter “renewing demand for the SVRL.” The complaint says this renewed letter stated the basis for the demand was the Civil Rights Act and reiterated the purpose as assessing NVRA/HAVA list-maintenance compliance. 1
What the lawsuit asks the judge to do
The complaint describes the case as a “summary-type” proceeding available after a written demand for covered records and an alleged failure by the custodian to comply.
“[A] special statutory proceeding in which the courts play a limited, albeit vital, role in assisting the Attorney General’s investigative powers.” 3
In plain English, DOJ is asking for an expedited, limited-scope court review focused on whether DOJ is entitled—under the statute it cites—to an order compelling production of the demanded records. The complaint says the attorney general may ask a federal court to issue an order directing the election official to produce the demanded records. 3
This reporting is based on the complaint and summons available through CourtListener at the PDF link above. In a press release, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated: “The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its oversight role dutifully, neutrally, and transparently wherever Americans vote in federal elections. Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work. We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties.”
As of publication, the State of New Jersey had not filed a response. In federal civil cases, next steps typically include service, an answer or motion, and briefing on the plaintiff’s request for relief. Here, the Department seeks an order compelling production of records as outlined in the complaint.
Notes
This article is based on excerpts from the federal complaint and accompanying summons filed February 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (3:26-cv-02025).
- Complaint, United States v. Caldwell, No. 3:26-cv-02025 (D.N.J. filed February 26, 2026), at 7, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.592512/gov.uscourts.njd.592512.1.0.pdf.
- Complaint, United States v. Caldwell, No. 3:26-cv-02025 (D.N.J. filed February 26, 2026), at 4.
- Complaint, United States v. Caldwell, No. 3:26-cv-02025 (D.N.J. filed February 26, 2026), at 3.