DOJ investigates New Jersey over 'error' that registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote

The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into New Jersey's voting registration system after it was revealed by Governor Mikie Sherrill admitted that the "motor voter" program registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote which led to 400 illegal votes being cast.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ Harmeet Dhillon posted a letter that was sent to Sherrill on X, stating that the governor "represented that approximately 6,600 people who self-identified as noncitizens between June 2023 and June 2024 were nevertheless registered to vote in New Jersey."

"Indeed, approximately 400 of those individuals voted," Dhillon said. "Ensuring that U.S. citizens' votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens votes is of paramount importance. We therefore write to formally request additional information to assess New Jersey's compliance with various federal statutes, as provided in our July 7, 2026, letter to the Lieutenant Governor. As we stated in that letter, we stand ready to help New Jersey election officials comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, as outlined in our memorandum titled, Federal Law Requirements for State and Local Election Officials."

Dhillon requested names and other information of the 6,600 noncitizens who were registered to vote as well as similar information for the 400 people who were able to cast illegal votes in the state.

Sherrill had said that the incident did not impact election outcomes, but said in a post, "Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered 'no' when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers' licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway."

"This happened under the previous administration and, upon learning this information, I immediately ordered my chief counsel to launch an investigation to get to the bottom of what occurred. I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024. The new MVC Administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system," she added.

President Trump has been pushing for the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which would make it a national requirement to prove US citizenship to vote in federal elections and nationalize voter ID laws. Currently, there are several states that do not require people to vote using any form of ID. 

Senator Mike Lee, who has been staunchly pushing for the SAVE America Act in the Senate, said in a post in response to the noncitizens registering to vote, "Software doesn’t register noncitizens to vote. People do. The fact that this happened—with or without software playing a role—can neither be ignored by Congress nor dismissed as a simple, garden-variety computer glitch."

"We need the SAVE America Act to stop this from happening," he added.