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The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a New Jersey voting law that it says unconstitutionally allows certain individuals who have never lived in the state, or even the United States, to vote in state elections.
The lawsuit, filed in Mercer County Superior Court, was brought by the RNC, the New Jersey Republican Party and Republican congressional candidate Michael McGuire, who is running in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District.
The legal challenge focuses on a provision that permits certain overseas individuals to register and vote using the last New Jersey address of a qualifying relative.
Republicans argue the law violates the New Jersey Constitution by extending voting rights to people they describe as “never-residents.”
“Democrats are allowing certain people who have never lived in New Jersey to vote in the state’s elections,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. “The RNC is taking them to court to stop this unconstitutional scheme, protect lawful voters, and secure New Jersey elections.”
According to the complaint, the New Jersey Constitution requires voters to have lived in the state for at least 30 days before an election.
The plaintiffs said the lawsuit does not challenge the voting rights of military personnel or U.S. citizens living overseas who previously resided in New Jersey. Those voters remain eligible to vote under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
The lawsuit argues that while federal law protects absentee voting for eligible military members and overseas citizens, it does not require states to extend voting eligibility to noncitizens who have never established residency.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to invalidate the challenged provisions, prohibit election officials from registering “never-resident” voters, remove any ineligible voters covered by the law from the state’s voter rolls and prevent ballots cast by those voters from being counted in future elections.
The defendants include the New Jersey Department of State, the Division of Elections, Secretary of State Dale Caldwell and Mercer County Superintendent of Elections Walker Worthy Jr.
The lawsuit is part of a broader RNC legal effort challenging similar election laws in several states, including Nebraska and Colorado. Republicans also cited a recent North Carolina court ruling barring “never-resident” voters from participating in future elections and said they hope to obtain a similar outcome in New Jersey.