Republican National Committee sues New Jersey over records on voter roll maintenance

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By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican National Committee on Thursday sued the New Jersey Division of Elections over its records on voter roll maintenance, asking a judge to order the state to hand over the documents, court documents show.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Mercer County, comes after the committee launched a probe into national voter registration lists. In March, the RNC sent public records requests to top election officials across the U.S., seeking documents related to voter roll list maintenance.

Republican President Donald Trump for the past several years has criticized the U.S. election system, claiming falsely that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread fraud. That claim was repeatedly rejected by state and federal officials, as well as members of his first administration.

Thursday’s lawsuit, the committee said, was a result of New Jersey’s refusal to hand over publicly available documents related to voting machine seal audit logs and its voter list maintenance procedures.

The committee said it initially requested the records in March. According to the lawsuit, New Jersey last month acknowledged the RNC’s request and said it was “reviewing” it.

On Tuesday, New Jersey denied the committee’s request for sealed audit logs, according to the lawsuit.

“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,” RNC chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement.

The New Jersey Division of Elections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Scott Malone and Christian Schmollinger)