Trenton, NJ – White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s recent acknowledgment of erroneous noncitizen voter registrations in New Jersey supports the Trump administration’s long-standing concerns about election security. Her remarks came as the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security continue seeking records related to the state’s voter registration system.
Speaking to reporters, Leavitt said she believes the timing of Sherrill’s announcement reflects growing federal scrutiny of New Jersey’s voter rolls rather than a coincidence.
Sherrill made the admission after repeated public statements in recent weeks and months boasting about election integrity and security in New Jersey.
Something isn’t adding up, and Leavitt says she knows what it is. It appears the state is trying to get in front of what is coming down next from the Department of Justice.
“What I will say on New Jersey and this governor, the fact that she just all of a sudden decided to put out a press release saying President Trump and Republicans have been right about noncitizens on our voting rolls is not a coincidence,” Leavitt said.
She continued:
“I think this governor is saying this because she realizes this administration is serious about getting to the bottom of illegal aliens voting and being on our voter rolls in our country.”
Leavitt also referenced recent action by Homeland Security.
“The Secretary of Homeland Security, as you know, sent a letter to several states, including New Jersey, requesting that noncitizens that are on their voter rolls need to be reported to DHS and need to be removed from those voter rolls. So that’s why all of a sudden she is speaking truth about the fact that this does take place in states across the country.”
State says registrations resulted from administrative error
The controversy stems from an automatic voter registration issue within the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission that occurred between June 2023 and June 2024 under the previous Murphy administration.
According to Gov. Sherrill’s administration, approximately 6,600 people who identified themselves as noncitizens while obtaining driver’s licenses or state identification cards were nevertheless registered to vote through the MVC system. State officials have said the registrations were inadvertent administrative errors and that the affected individuals disclosed they were not U.S. citizens during the licensing process.
Officials said fewer than 400 of those mistakenly registered ultimately cast ballots. The administration has stated there is currently no evidence that the erroneous registrations altered the outcome of any election and has said those voters were affiliated with multiple political parties as well as unaffiliated voters.
Separate criminal cases involve alleged intentional fraud
The MVC registration issue is distinct from federal criminal prosecutions announced earlier this year.
On May 1, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey charged four lawful permanent residents in separate criminal complaints, alleging they intentionally registered to vote by falsely certifying they were U.S. citizens and later voted in federal elections. Prosecutors also allege the defendants falsely denied voting when applying for U.S. citizenship.
“As alleged, the defendants broke federal law by voting in elections they were not eligible to participate in, and then made false statements under oath to conceal that conduct,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said when announcing the charges.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche added that the Justice Department “will use every authority to protect the integrity of U.S. elections,” while FBI Director Kash Patel said noncitizen voting “is a federal crime.”
Those prosecutions are unrelated to the MVC administrative registration error disclosed by the governor.
State and vendor dispute responsibility
After announcing the issue on July 21, Gov. Sherrill ordered an investigation, directed election officials to remove the affected registrations from voter rolls, called for replacement of the MVC software vendor, and launched an outside review.
Sherrill has repeatedly described the incident as unacceptable while maintaining the registrations resulted from a system failure rather than misconduct by the individuals who were automatically registered.
The state’s software vendor, IDEMIA, disputes that characterization. The company says applicants correctly identified themselves as noncitizens, that its system accurately captured those responses, and that it merely transmitted information according to New Jersey’s specifications. IDEMIA contends that state election officials—not the vendor—determine voter eligibility and approve registrations.
New Jersey officials reject that explanation and maintain the registrations should never have been forwarded for voter enrollment.
Federal review continues
As of Friday, New Jersey continues removing the affected registrations while the Department of Justice has requested additional records related to the incident. Republican lawmakers have also called for legislative investigations and additional election security measures.
President Donald Trump has cited the New Jersey case in support of proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration, expanded federal access to voter registration records, and passage of legislation such as the SAVE Act.
State officials continue to distinguish between the MVC administrative registration error and the separate criminal cases involving individuals accused of intentionally making false citizenship claims to register and vote.
