New Jersey admitted that about 6,600 noncitizens were wrongly added to voter rolls and that fewer than 400 cast ballots, and now Republicans are suing to see the records behind the fix.
Story Snapshot
- Governor says a Motor Vehicle Commission software error registered about 6,600 noncitizens.
- State removed about 5,100 affected registrations and ordered county reviews.
- Republicans sued for voter-roll maintenance records under federal disclosure rules.
- Justice Department requested identifying data on affected registrants and voters.
What New Jersey Says Went Wrong
State officials said a vendor software error at the Motor Vehicle Commission auto-registered people who had marked that they were not citizens between June 2023 and June 2024. Governor Mikie Sherrill said about 6,600 noncitizens were caught in this error and that fewer than 400 cast ballots during that period. The state blamed the system logic, not intentional fraud by the affected people. Officials said they started removals and ordered an independent review of the failure.
Governor Sherrill said the Division of Elections began to remove more than 4,500 people registered only because of the error and sent the rest for county review to avoid wrongful removals. By mid-August, the state said about 5,100 people were placed in βdeleted statusβ and removed from the rolls. The statewide voter system was taken offline briefly to copy and preserve data before changes were made, according to an August update from the Governorβs office.
Why Republicans Went to Court
The Republican National Committee, New Jersey Republicans, and Representative Tom Kean Jr. filed a federal lawsuit seeking voter-roll maintenance records tied to the incident. They said state and county officials failed to fully produce documents that federal law requires be available for public inspection. Reports describe requests for logs, removal codes, agency communications, and records on people identified as noncitizens since early 2023. A prior similar case was dismissed, which signals legal risk on standing.
Republican requests aim to test how the error happened, who was affected, and what fixes were made. Democracy Docket reported the requests included use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database and interagency communications. News 12 and Fox News reported that some records arrived late or incomplete, and some counties did not respond by deadlines. If a court compels disclosure, the public could see the audit trail and whether gaps still exist.
What Federal Officials Asked For
NBC News reported the Department of Justice sought the names, birth dates, nationalities, addresses, and registration dates of all 6,600 affected people, and voting details for the group that cast ballots. That request shows federal interest in both scope and impact. It also raises privacy concerns that states often cite when they narrow disclosures. Any federal review could also check whether state removals followed due process rules.
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A reporter put it to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill directly: the Trump⦠pic.twitter.com/KGYWkEz2Xy
— M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) September 28, 2026
This fight sits inside a long-running tug-of-war over transparency and accuracy in voter lists. The National Voter Registration Act requires states to keep and disclose records about list maintenance programs for two years. Courts have treated those records as public, but states often warn that broad releases can expose private data or invite bad matches that lead to wrongful removals. Both risks are real, which is why detailed logs and careful review matter.
Why It Matters Beyond New Jersey
Americans of all views want elections that are both secure and fair. A software failure that registers people who said they were not citizens shakes trust. At the same time, rushed purges based on weak data can remove eligible voters. The clean way through is sunlight and verified fixes. If New Jerseyβs records confirm the error and show complete, lawful removals, confidence rises. If records stay hidden or messy, doubt grows on both the right and the left.
Sources:
pjmedia.com, nbcnews.com, cnn.com, foxnews.com, apnews.com, jns.org, washingtontimes.com, dhs.gov, democracydocket.com, nj.gov, abcnews.com, judiciary.house.gov, supremecourt.gov
