On November 17, 2025, the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed an election-integrity lawsuit against New Jersey for failing to provide public records on its voter roll maintenance.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to compel the release of these records, accusing New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way, of unlawfully withholding public records related to voter roll maintenance and list-cleaning efforts.
The RNC claims New Jersey has violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and state laws by refusing to provide documents on how the state maintains its voter rolls, including policies, procedures, training materials, and data on voters who requested removal from the lists. The suit argues that over the past two years, the state has produced “not a single record” on its NVRA compliance program, calling it “inconceivable.”
In March of this year, the RNC sent records requests to election officials in 48 states and D.C. seeking information on how states maintain their voter rolls. The case could expand to other blue-controlled states, worried that illegal voters might be culled behind the Republican-led effort.
RNC Chair Joe Gruters emphasized, “New Jerseyans deserve to know whether their voter rolls are accurate. Clean and transparent voter lists are essential for trust in our elections. The RNC is suing to obtain these records and ensure the state follows the law.”
In July 2025, the RNC sued the New Jersey Division of Elections for failing to produce records on voter roll maintenance and sealed audit logs from voting machines used in the state’s June primary election. The suit alleged violations of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and common law right of access, after requests dating back to March were delayed or denied.
The RNC has sent 18 separate records requests for New Jersey’s voter rolls, but alleges that Sos Way has violated federal law by failing to provide them.
The NVRA requires states to maintain accurate voter registration lists and to remove ineligible individuals from their voter rolls. The NVRA requires states to hold records for two years, which is why the RNC is seeking public records from March 2023 to the present.
On Nov 4, the RNC successfully provided legal resources to the New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) in an emergency lawsuit preventing the counting of about 300 mail-in ballots deemed “illegal” in Bergen County. Nov 6, a judge ruled in favor of the NJGOP (with RNC backing), denying the Democrat request and upholding the rejection of the 300 unsealed ballots. The decision emphasized that allowing cures would violate state law and risk “undermining ballot security.”
However, much more work needs to be done. Conservatives are pointing to inconsistencies in the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial race after about 554,000 new voters appeared from 2021 to 2025 (most all voting by mail for Democrats) and the state’s total population growth over four years was only 351,000. Conservatives believe this is proof of mass registration fraud, and demand audits!
The RNC is/has engaged in lawsuits in Minnesota, New Hampshire, Georgia, Michigan, and Mississippi. Oct 14, the RNC also filed an OPRA lawsuit against Hawaii for public officials’ refusal to turn over requested records.
The legal actions are part of a coordinated, state-by-state push, defending President Trump’s Executive Order to enhance “election integrity” by accessing voter roll data and machine audits to ensure only lawfully cast absentee ballots are counted.
“If states unlawfully block our requests, or if we discover that states have failed to accurately maintain their voter rolls, the RNC stands ready to act. We have to continue to do everything we can to protect the vote, and make it so it’s as easy as possible to vote and as hard as possible to cheat,” said Gruters.
Thank you RNC! These actions are necessary to ensure transparency in our elections and to show that elections are fair, secure, and comply with the law.
Bill Bruch
Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Committee Chairman (5th year), WAGOP Executive Board Member (5th Year), Skagit County GOP Chairman (9th year), Citizen Journalist, Olympic Conference 2021 Activist of the Year Award Winner, Business Owner, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate.
