April 24, 2026
NEWARK – The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey today granted a motion to intervene filed by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, P.C., on behalf of a coalition of civil rights and advocacy organizations, as well as one impacted individual.
The court’s ruling allows NAACP, NAACP New Jersey State Conference, Salvation and Social Justice, AAPI New Jersey, Returning Citizens Support Group, Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, Garden State Bar Association, New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, People’s Organization for Progress and Edwin Ortiz (the “Intervenors”) to participate as Intervenor Defendants in United States of America v. Caldwell, a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice demanding the State of New Jersey turn over unredacted, sensitive voter registration records, including names, addresses, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
“We are gratified by the court’s decision to allow us to intervene in this case with our partners to stop the Trump Administration’s national effort to centralize control over election administration — a responsibility the Constitution expressly assigns to the states,” said Ryan Haygood, President & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “With today’s decision, we can be assured the Court will hear directly from the very communities whose privacy and voting rights are at stake in this case.”
The Intervenors contend that turning over the voter rolls would pose significant privacy risks to communities that have historically faced racial discrimination and disproportionate surveillance by the government and law enforcement – and would likely deter people from registering to vote and erode trust in the voting process.
The Intervenors argue that the government seeks to weaponize the data by identifying certain categories of voters – mainly immigrants, people of color and people with past criminal convictions – to challenge their right to vote. They contend that combining state and federal databases presents a serious risk of wrongly flagging legitimate voters who already face significant structural barriers to voting and civic life, including those who are vulnerable to unconstitutional or erroneous immigration enforcement in the current climate.
While 12 states have complied with Department of Justice’s request for voter records, most have refused. Courts in California, Michigan, Oregon, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have dismissed the government’s lawsuits demanding these records, and the DOJ has appealed.
The Motion to Intervene, filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, can be found here.
Below are some quotes from clients:
“The actions of this administration have nothing to do with preventing non-citizens from voting,” said Anthony P. Ashton, NAACP Senior Associate General Counsel. “Gathering sensitive voter registration information from voters in New Jersey, and across the country, is part of a larger scheme to intimidate, discourage, and disenfranchise lawfully registered voters. We will continue to fight this administration’s attempts to undermine elections in our country.”
“AAPI NJ is proud to stand with NJISJ and other allies against this administration’s unlawful attempts to keep eligible Americans from voting, and we are pleased the court has recognized the right of our communities to be represented in this matter,” said Amber Reed, Co-Executive Director of AAPI New Jersey. “Our democracy is strongest when all of us show up, speak out, and refuse to be intimidated.”
“A court’s decision to grant intervention and allow an amended complaint may sound procedural, even technical,” said Edwin Ortiz, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Returning Citizens Support Group. It is not. It is a meaningful affirmation that communities most affected by our democracy’s failures and its possibilities have the right to be heard when that democracy is threatened. We stand alongside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, Salvation and Social Justice, AAPI New Jersey, the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, the Garden State Bar Association, the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, and the People’s Organization for Progress in this effort not as spectators, but as participants in shaping the future of our elections. The court’s ruling acknowledges a simple but powerful truth: those who have historically been pushed to the margins must have a seat at the table when the integrity of our elections is at stake.”
“As an immigrant and naturalized citizen I applaud this decision,” said Carolyn Chang, Social Justice Committee Chairwoman, Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey.
“We are grateful to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, P.C. for leading this effort and advancing our shared advocacy to ensure that government actions affecting elections and access to voter information are conducted lawfully, with appropriate safeguards, so that all communities can participate fully and confidently in the democratic process,” Saad Admani, Esq., President of the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association.
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