A federal judge in New Jersey has blocked the US Justice Department from accessing the state’s unredacted voter rolls, citing potential privacy concerns for voters. The decision matters because it limits federal access to sensitive electoral data during an ongoing statewide dispute over voter registration and election oversight.

District Judge Zahid Quraishi, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, issued the ruling on Wednesday. The case comes amid calls from some New Jersey Republicans for an investigation into the state’s automatic voter-registration system and possible federal intervention, although the article text provided does not detail the Justice Department’s stated reason for seeking the records.