The Obama campaign yesterday joined a 26-year-old fight between the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, complaining to a U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey that by recruiting private investigators in New Mexico for Election Day work, RNC is engaging in “ballot security” activities (such as vote caging) prohibited by a 1982 consent decree.

“We went into federal court Monday morning, in front of the judge that saw the original consent decree, and said ‘This looks like what they got into trouble for 20 years ago,’” said Jenny Backus, an adviser to the Obama campaign.

The Obama campaign presented an affidavit from Albuquerque private investigator David O’Niell repeating the story the Independent reported yesterday: that a California firm called SETEC had recruited him to work with attorneys on Election Day.

Although RNC argued that SETEC was simply recruiting consultants to help with technology questions, the Obama campaign wondered why RNC would hire private investigators for technology help.

The RNC fired back with a motion saying DNC has used the original consent decree for “tactical political reasons, in far-flung states, on the eve of every recent federal election,” and that the consent decree should be dissolved because its restrictions were too broad.

It is “necessary for the RNC to protect its constituency and the general public by attempting to ensure that only legitimate votes are cast and counted,” RNC’s brief said.

At issues is a 1982 consent decree that was the result of voter suppression tactics by RNC that targeted minority voters. As the Washington Post reported in 2004:

In 1981, the Republican National Committee sent letters to predominantly black neighborhoods in New Jersey, and when 45,000 letters were returned as undeliverable, the committee compiled a challenge list to remove those voters from the rolls. The RNC sent off-duty law enforcement officials to the polls and hung posters in heavily black neighborhoods warning that violating election laws is a crime.

In 1986, the RNC tried to have 31,000 voters, most of them black, removed from the rolls in Louisiana when a party mailer was returned. The consent decrees that resulted prohibited the party from engaging in anti-fraud initiatives that target minorities or conduct mail campaigns to “compile voter challenge lists.”

The use of returned mail to compile voter challenge lists is called “voter caging,” and it is specifically prohibited in New Mexico. The Obama campaign is particularly sensitive to the use of private investigators in New Mexico after a P.I. hired by GOP attorney Pat Rogers was sued by two civil rights groups for allegedly intimidating minority voters.

Although the judge did not grant the Obama campaign the injunction it asked for, Backus said the campaign was satisfied. ”We want to protect the rights of New Mexico voters. We also wanted to tell the RNC we are keeping an eye on them,” she said. “We achieved the goal we set out with, which was to send a warning shot saying ‘Don’t mess around with this.’”

RNC did not respond to calls on Monday and Tuesday requesting information and comment for this story.