A week before Jamie Ding’s incredible 29-game (and counting) win streak began on “Jeopardy!,” he filed a document in federal court fighting the Trump administration’s pursuit of New Jersey’s voter rolls.
Ding, who was raised in Metro Detroit and has resided in New Jersey since 2016, worries the federal government may use the sensitive information contained in the state’s voter registration files to retaliate against residents “who disagree with or speak out against it.”
“Individuals in or aligned with the federal government have demonstrated a willingness to retaliate against people based on their political views,” Ding wrote in the document, filed March 3. “I fear that if they gain access to confidential information contained in voter registration files, they will misuse that information and target perceived enemies.”
Trump has made election security a key issue of his presidency, parroting false claims of illegal voting. The DOJ filed a lawsuit in late February, demanding access to voter rolls in New Jersey, as well as Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia. In Michigan, Justice Department on Tuesday sent a letter to the Wayne County clerk, seeking all ballots submitted for the 2024 election. State officials rejected the demand, calling it an attempt to undermine confidence in election integrity. Federal officials have threatened to seek a court order to obtain the ballots.
The records are needed to “ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country,” then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a press release announcing the New Jersey case.
Ding, 33, works for the state of New Jersey’s Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, helping to administer the low-income housing tax credit program. In his motion to intervene in the federal lawsuit, he wrote that he is a politically active Democrat who was a member of the county committee of the Mercer County Democratic Party and was involved with the New Jersey Leadership Collective, a training program for young progressives.
‘Disdain and distrust’
“I go to political events and donate to causes I care about,” he wrote. “I express my political views openly. I am a Democrat and have been outspoken in criticizing this administration when I disagree with its stances.”
The DOJ is demanding information that includes voters’ full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers to ensure the states’ compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and Help America Vote Act (HAVA), to audit voter rolls and enforce federal election law.
Ding believes turning this data over to the federal government would have a “chilling effect” on his own participation in the political process and civic activism. He’s especially concerned about the effect it could have on New Jersey’s immigrant population, which totals about 2.4 million, or about a quarter of the state’s total population, according to USAFacts.
“I believe this administration view immigrants — including naturalized citizens like me — with disdain and distrust,” he wrote.
Ding’s parents left China in 1989 amid political unrest that erupted into deadly violence at Tiananmen Square. He was born in Australia and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2007, after his family moved to Tennessee, then to Michigan.
When reached by The Detroit News on Thursday, Ding declined to comment further on the issue.
Ding’s nearly six-week run as “Jeopardy!” champion began March 13, one week after his motion was filed in federal court. He is currently the fifth winningest “Jeopardy!” contestant ever, in terms of both games won and prize money earned.
Other individuals and groups have filed similar motions in the federal lawsuit, including the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey and the Latino Action Network.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has said courts have already determined the federal government lacks authority to demand state voter rolls and that the state “will defend against his lawsuit in court.”
New Jersey state officials are scheduled to file a formal response by May 4, according to court records.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Jamie Ding fights Trump pursuit of voter information
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
