DOJ Seeks Names of 6,600 New Jersey Noncitizen Voters as State Resists Deportation Threats
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jul 24
DOJ Seeks Names of 6,600 New Jersey Noncitizen Voters as State Resists Deportation Threats
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jul 24
Summary
Federal prosecutors want New Jersey to turn over by next week the identities of 6,600 noncitizens who were registered to vote, after the state disclosed that about 400 cast ballots since 2023.
A Motor Vehicles Commission registration failure tied to driver’s license and ID applications is blamed for the enrollments, though the contractor implicated in the episode disputes that a software error occurred.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill says the state will fight the DOJ request even as the department warns noncitizens who voted could face criminal charges and deportation.
Republicans from Rep. Jeff Van Drew to the White House have seized on the case, while an outside law firm reviews what happened and whether the Murphy administration knew earlier.
The 6,600 registrations are a tiny share of New Jersey’s 6.7 million voters, and Sherrill says there is no evidence the roughly 400 ballots changed any election outcome.
As federal monitors expand nationwide, how will officials prove noncitizen voting cases while protecting privacy, due process, and lawful voters from bad data matches?