A federal judge in Newark has dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit that sought to force New Jersey to turn over its voter registration records.
The lawsuit is one of more than two dozen the White House has filed across the country seeking voter registration data from states.
While New Jersey officials turned over the state's voter registration list to the Justice Department last year, the department argued the records were incomplete because identifying information had been redacted, including voters' driver's license numbers and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.
The Justice Department sued New Jersey in an effort to obtain the information, but a federal judge dismissed the case Wednesday.
New Jersey officials applauded the decision.
"We are grateful for the district court's decision, which correctly found that DOJ's demand for voters' personal information lacked support in federal law," New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement.
The ruling comes as New Jersey continues to grapple with a separate election issue after Gov. Mikie Sherrill disclosed last week that a software glitch at the Motor Vehicle Commission improperly registered thousands of noncitizens to vote between 2023 and 2024. Republicans have argued the problem is broader than the governor initially disclosed, while an outside law firm is investigating the error.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Gothamist's request for comment.
