House Republicans Launch Political Attack on New Jersey Over Noncitizen Voter Registrations
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Republican committee chairs Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil are targeting New Jersey officials with demands for documents, seizing on a technical error that added over 6,600 noncitizens to voter rolls in 2023-2024, in what critics see as a partisan attempt to undermine trust in the electoral process.
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on House Administration, led by hardline conservatives, sent a letter to New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell demanding details on the state's compliance with federal voting laws. This comes after Governor Mikie Sherrill transparently disclosed that a software error led to about 6,600 noncitizens being added to the voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024. The letter, which amplifies right-wing narratives about voter fraud, notes that the governor indicated roughly 400 of those individuals voted in elections since 2023, and requests information from the Department of State on how the registrations were processed, despite no evidence of intentional wrongdoing.
Governor Sherrill attributed the issue to a malfunction in the Motor Vehicle Commission’s system, which allegedly transmitted data on noncitizens who had indicated they were not citizens to the Division of Elections. Rather than accepting this explanation, Republicans cite a response from IDEMIA, the software vendor, which disputes the governor’s claim and shifts blame onto state agencies. The vendor’s statement adds that the registrations stopped only after the MVC asked for a settings change in June 2024, but the noncitizens remained on the rolls, a technical oversight rather than a criminal act.
The Republican-led committees claim they are seeking documents related to New Jersey’s adherence to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, as well as any records on how the state verifies citizenship status and cooperates with the Department of Homeland Security. The request, also signed by Representatives Jeff Van Drew and Laurel Lee, sets an aggressive deadline of August 17 for the submission of the requested materials, further escalating partisan tensions over voting rights and immigrant participation in democracy.