New Jersey will not give the Trump administration information about thousands of noncitizens registered to vote, Gov. Mikie Sherrill told federal officials Tuesday. The state, meanwhile, started to scrub the voter rolls of more than 4,500 people who are ineligible to cast ballots.
Sherrill said her administration was contacting the individuals by mail and starting “the process of correcting” the rolls. A week ago, when the governor announced that a yearlong motor vehicle offices software error had improperly registered non-U.S. citizens to participate in elections, she said that roughly 6,500 individuals were involved.
On Tuesday, though, she said an early review showed “a number of these individuals may be citizens.”
County officials will review the names of 2,100 people for eligibility, she said. It was important “ensure that any lawfully registered voters are not being disenfranchised.”
Letter to Washington
The Sherrill administration responded in a letter Tuesday to a July 21 request, from U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, for the full names, dates of birth, nationalities, addresses and registration dates and locations of those registered and, for the 400 or so who cast ballots, when and where they voted.
Dhillon’s request, Sherrill wrote, violated state and federal privacy restrictions and “had no legal basis.”
Republicans in Washington are using the state’s disclosure of the registration error to urge passage of federal legislation that would make it more difficult to register to vote.
“This federal government is weaponizing the government against individuals that disagree with them,” Sherrill said at an election-related event.
New Jersey’s “motor-voter” system is programmed to add individuals to voter rolls as they apply for licenses or state IDs. On July 21, Sherrill said that for a year starting in June 2023, about 6,600 people were registered that way, even if they checked a box indicating that they were not U.S. citizens, who are not allowed to vote. She promised a full independent investigation.
Sherrill attributed the error to a software glitch and said Idemia, a Motor Vehicle Commission technology vendor for 40 years, will be replaced in 2027. Idemia said its role was to collect and bundle the registration information and send it to state election officials, who are responsible for confirming eligibility.
A state Motor Vehicle Commission web page has more information and links to resources for those who were affected.
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