Officials from both parties say the state’s voter rolls may contain more noncitizens than Gov. Mikie Sherrill disclosed after a software error added 6,600 ineligible registrants and about 400 reportedly cast ballots.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
New Jersey’s voter registration process relies largely on applicants truthfully declaring their citizenship, according to election officials who say the number of noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls could be substantially higher than the 6,600 cases recently acknowledged by Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
A Politico report found that election administrators, political operatives and lawmakers from both parties have longstanding concerns about weaknesses in the system, particularly because identity checks do not independently verify citizenship.
“It’s the honor system,” Hunterdon County Board of Elections Administrator Beth Thompson told Politico.
County officials can use Social Security or driver’s license numbers to confirm a registrant’s identity, Thompson said, but neither record establishes whether the person is a U.S. citizen.
The renewed scrutiny follows Sherrill’s disclosure last week that a Motor Vehicle Commission software problem mistakenly added approximately 6,600 noncitizens to the rolls between June 2023 and June 2024. About 400 of those individuals cast ballots before the problem was identified, she said.
More than 4,500 registrations have since been removed, while county election officials continue reviewing approximately 2,100 others.
Election officials and political figures interviewed by Politico said the true number may be considerably larger because New Jersey has used automatic voter registration since 2018, while the governor’s figures cover only one year of registrations affected by the identified software error.
The Trump administration has estimated that more than 35,000 noncitizens could be registered to vote in New Jersey. That estimate has not been independently verified.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon requested the names and identifying information of the noncitizens who were registered and those who cast ballots.
Sherrill rejected the request, saying the Justice Department lacked a legal basis for demanding the records and that the state would protect residents’ private information.
The Justice Department has argued that New Jersey is legally required to maintain accurate voter rolls and provide sufficient information for federal officials to examine possible violations of election law. The administration has also cited the registrations as evidence supporting stronger proof-of-citizenship and voter identification requirements.
The dispute has drawn attention from Congress. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., announced plans for a House hearing after the August recess and joined 18 other House Republicans in demanding answers from Sherrill about the cause of the error and the safeguards being adopted to prevent a recurrence.
Politico reported that lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation in May that would stop noncitizens from being prompted to register to vote when applying for or renewing driver’s licenses. The proposal suggests state officials were aware of weaknesses in the registration process before the governor publicly disclosed the software error.
A Senate committee unanimously approved the measure, but it has not received a vote before the full chamber.
Supporters of tighter election rules say the controversy demonstrates the need to require documentary proof of citizenship before registration and identification at the polls. State officials maintain that they are correcting the records while seeking to avoid removing eligible voters or exposing sensitive personal information.
The central vulnerability remains that New Jersey verifies who applicants are but generally depends on their own declarations to determine whether they are legally qualified to vote.
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