Trenton, NJ – The Republican chairmen of two House committees have formally demanded records from the New Jersey Department of State following the disclosure that approximately 6,600 noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote in New Jersey.
This comes after New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill admitted that thousands of non-citizens have voted in New Jersey elections through what she publicly described as a software glitch.
The investigation focuses on the state’s communications with that software vendor, who has denied any presence of a glitch, and blamed state officials for the illegal registrations that led to 400 illegal aliens voting in recent elections.
In an Aug. 3 letter addressed to Lt. Gov. and Secretary of State Dale G. Caldwell, House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Administration Elections Subcommittee Chair Laurel Lee, and Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Van Drew said they are investigating whether New Jersey complied with federal election laws.
The lawmakers cited Gov. Mikie Sherrill‘s July 21 announcement that about 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024 after a Motor Vehicle Commission software error. According to Sherrill, roughly 400 of those individuals subsequently voted before the error was discovered.
Lawmakers question state’s handling of the error
The four chairmen said they have “serious concerns with New Jersey apparently adding thousands of noncitizens to its voter rolls” and requested information regarding the state’s compliance with the Help America Vote Act, the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act.
The letter also points to reporting that software vendor IDEMIA disputes the governor’s characterization of the incident.
According to the lawmakers, IDEMIA has stated that citizenship information “was recorded correctly and always available to the MVC” and that New Jersey agencies—not the vendor—were responsible for transmitting voter registration information to the Division of Elections.
The letter further notes that, according to IDEMIA, the registrations stopped only after the Motor Vehicle Commission requested changes to the software settings in June 2024.
“If the New Jersey government had access to accurate information about the citizenship status of the noncitizens who were registered to vote and were aware of the situation in June 2024, this raises additional questions about Governor Sherrill’s decision to blame IDEMIA, to not remove the noncitizens from the voter rolls, and to not disclose the issue to the public,” the lawmakers wrote.
Committees seek extensive records
The committees requested a broad range of documents covering Jan. 1, 2023, through the present.
Among the requested records are documents describing New Jersey’s compliance with federal voting laws, internal procedures designed to prevent noncitizen voter registration, communications regarding the alleged software error, information explaining how officials determined the registrations were accidental, and communications with IDEMIA.
The lawmakers also requested documents concerning New Jersey’s use—or lack of use—of the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to verify voter eligibility and identify noncitizens on the voter rolls.
In addition, they are seeking communications between state officials and IDEMIA related to discovery of the issue, any warnings provided by the vendor, and discussions about correcting the problem.
Response due this month
The letter requests that the Department of State produce the requested records no later than 5 p.m. on Aug. 17.
The committee chairmen said the information will assist Congress in its oversight responsibilities involving elections, civil liberties, criminal law and national security, as lawmakers consider potential legislative reforms.
The investigation follows renewed debate over election security in New Jersey after Sherrill acknowledged the voter registration error and later said she would support a state voter identification law if approved by the Legislature.
