A New Jersey woman is suing the state Motor Vehicle Commission, after her request for an atheist-related license plate was turned down.

Maurice Township resident Shannon Morgan filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday claiming that the MVC's rejection of her request for a plate that read "8THEIST" directly violated her First Amendment rights.

According to the Associated Press, Morgan submitted an online application for the custom license plate, but was quickly denied. Curious whether the anti-religious nature of her request affected the outcome, Morgan filled out another application for a plate bearing the phrase "BAPTIST."

The website accepted the request for the latter license plate, AP reported. Morgan claimed that she wrote a letter to the agency complaining about her request's denial, but never received a response. In addition to snail mail, the New Jersey woman also tried to contact the Motor Vehicle Commission by phone.

The Associated Press tried contacting the agency, but phone calls on Friday were not returned. According to a recorded message, the offices were closed for Good Friday.

New Jersey previously accepted a license plate that read "ATH1EST," after a brief flutter.

The legal director for Washington, D.C.-based group Americans United for the Separation of Church and State told the Associated Press that the MVC is "disfavoring atheist plates and not fixing the system."

Ayesha N. Khan said this instance happening more than once in New Jersey demonstrates the fact that the problem hasn't been corrected.

"Whatever Internet glitch there might be cannot be the explanation at this time," she said, adding that she hoped the Motor Vehicle Commission would consider new rules that called for "objective, viewpoint-neutral criteria for issuing a plate."