DOJ official says New Jersey governor was aware of voter-registration issue before criticizing Trump
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Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon claimed Governor Mikie Sherrill knew of a New Jersey voter-registration problem before she publicly called President Trump’s election claims false, and warned that non-cooperation with the Justice Department could lead to lawsuits.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told reporters that Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey was already aware of a pending disclosure about non-citizen registrations on the state’s voter rolls before she joined a group of Democratic governors in denouncing President Donald Trump’s election-integrity statements. Dhillon said the timing suggested the governor “already knew that this revelation was forthcoming” and then called the president a liar.
The Department of Homeland Security had released data showing more than 35,000 potential non-citizens listed on New Jersey’s rolls. After Trump’s July 16 speech alleging foreign interference and inflated numbers of non-citizen voters in Democratic-run states, Sherrill signed a statement with 23 other governors calling the president’s claims “false” and accusing him of attempting to intimidate voters.
Dhillon warned that states that cooperate with the Justice Department would receive assistance, while those that refuse could face legal action. “It’s a bipartisan problem, actually. I’m looking forward to helping everyone who will work with us fix this problem. If they won’t work with us, we’ll sue them and we’ll still fix the problem,” she said.
Governor Sherrill told WCBS that her administration is conducting an independent investigation into the voter-registration issue and that the federal government’s focus should remain on ensuring free and fair elections. She declined to comply with a DOJ request for voter data within the five-day deadline cited by Dhillon.
Other states, including Pennsylvania and New York, have also resisted similar DOJ requests, citing federal law and state privacy protections.