Nineteen House Republicans are pressing New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill for explanations after around 6,600 self-identified noncitizens were registered to vote. This led to 400 ballots being cast, attributed to a software failure in the state. The group of lawmakers voiced their concerns to Sherrill through a letter issued recently.
The letter emphasized the importance of only registering eligible American citizens to vote. It questioned whether the incident was solely due to a software issue or something more deliberate. These Republicans argue that the situation demonstrates a need for stronger voter identification laws and federal standards to verify proof of citizenship.
This was a catastrophic breakdown of the most basic safeguard in our election system: ensuring that only eligible American citizens are registered and permitted to vote. How do you know this was just a software glitch and not a nefarious act?
The Republicans involved, including Reps. Jefferson Van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey, expressed their concerns about election security without new legislation to strengthen these protections. Notably, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. did not join his colleagues in signing the letter.
Governor Sherrill revealed the issue to the public, explaining that a significant software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System resulted in the registration of those not U.S. citizens over an extended period, prior to when she assumed office.
She stated that individuals who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens when applying for driving licenses and ID cards were registered to vote without fault on their part. Republicans have compiled various questions for the state to address, like the testing regime for voter roll maintenance and the location of the improper ballots. They also inquired if Sherrill’s administration would support voter ID legislation.
Republicans have consistently warned about the weaknesses in voter-registration systems, inadequate voter-roll maintenance, and the risk of noncitizens voting in national elections, which current federal law prohibits.
The lawmakers asked Governor Sherrill to reply to their queries by August 2026.
Leo Briceno is a political reporter with the congressional team at Fox News Digital, with previous experience at World Magazine.
Leave a Reply