New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has responded to congressional Republicans demanding answers about approximately 6,600 people identified as noncitizens who were nevertheless registered to vote through the state’s motor vehicle system, but her three-page response left several of their central questions unanswered, including which elections were affected, how the registrations were approved and whether anyone will be held accountable.
A group of 19 House Republicans, led by Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, sent Sherrill a letter on July 24 containing 12 questions about the registration issue. The administration had disclosed that roughly 6,600 people who indicated between June 2023 and June 2024 that they were not U.S. citizens nonetheless ended up registered to vote. A preliminary review found that fewer than 400 of those individuals had cast ballots.
“This right here is exactly why we should require ID to vote in our elections,” Van Drew told Breitbart News at the time, adding that lawmakers needed answers about “how this happened, why it was not caught sooner, and whether more ineligible registrations remain.”
Among other things, the Republican lawmakers asked the governor to disclose which elections included ballots cast by the affected individuals and whether any contests were decided by margins smaller than the number of improperly cast ballots in those jurisdictions. They also sought information about the voter-eligibility verification process that failed, whether every affected registration had been removed, what safeguards would be implemented before the 2026 general election and whether government officials or contractors would face consequences.
“We look forward to Governor Sherrill’s prompt response,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) said. The lawmakers set an Aug. 21 deadline for complete written answers.
Sherrill submitted her response on that deadline, writing that her administration was “fully committed to ensuring that elections in New Jersey remain free and fair” and considers election integrity “as a matter of the utmost seriousness.” The governor noted that she had publicly revealed the issue on July 21, three days before the congressional letter was sent, and characterized what happened as “a registration error” dating to “years before I took office.”
According to Sherrill, her administration had “moved aggressively to remediate the issue and remove affected individuals from the voter rolls.” She said she also ordered “an immediate investigation that is ongoing,” which is being conducted by what she called “a bipartisan firm led by the former state Attorney General for a Republican Governor.” She added, “This work remains my focus.”
Sherrill then used part of her response to criticize the Republican lawmakers themselves, writing that “Washington Republicans, on the other hand, seem much more concerned with using the issue for political gain than they are with protecting our elections.” She accused several of the lawmakers who signed the letter of supporting President Donald Trump “in his efforts to undermine our election system and defund election security.” She further wrote that seven of the lawmakers “attempted to overturn the 2020 elections and voted to challenge the electoral votes of states,” while another had employed “an operative convicted of voter fraud, bribery, and blackmail.”
The governor also challenged Republicans’ argument that the SAVE America Act would have prevented the registrations in question, writing, “I encourage you to become more familiar with the legislation you have cosponsored.” Sherrill pointed out that the affected individuals had indicated that they were not citizens, while adding that subsequent investigation showed that “some may, in fact, have had valid registrations.”
Sherrill also took aim at the SAVE database, arguing that it has “well-documented accuracy issues” that have contributed to “the disenfranchisement of eligible citizen voters.” She pointed to Texas, where, she wrote, U.S. citizens had been flagged as potentially ineligible voters and some “were likely unfairly removed from voter rolls.”
The governor further objected to proposals that would increase federal involvement in voter registration. She wrote that measures such as “a centralized registry of voters” present “important concerns regarding personal privacy and abuses of power under President Trump.” Sherrill accused Trump of having “shown time and time again that he will do anything to ensure that only those who support him are able to vote,” and argued that keeping election administration largely in the hands of the states addresses the type of danger “our Founding Fathers sought to guard against.”
Turning more generally to the questions raised by the Republican lawmakers, Sherrill wrote, “We will continue to approach this issue with transparency, integrity, and accountability,” describing that commitment as “a matter of record.” She also said that “the answers to many of the questions posed in your letter are already matters of public record or have been addressed through information released by my administration,” and directed the lawmakers to three public statements previously released by her office.
The governor’s letter, however, did not specifically identify the primary, general, municipal, school board, special or federal elections in which affected individuals cast ballots. Nor did it explain how people who had identified themselves as noncitizens were ultimately validated as eligible voters, specify which officials knew about the registration problem and when they learned of it, or identify officials or contractors who would be held responsible.
Sherrill’s response also did not provide what Republicans had requested as “the precise number of affected registrations,” nor did it supply detailed information about the state’s validation procedures or state whether officials or contractors “will be held accountable.”
Sherrill concluded her letter by writing, “The People of New Jersey have my commitment that we will protect the private information of New Jersey voters, protect the integrity of our voter rolls, and ensure our elections remain free, fair, and secure.”
Van Drew expressed dissatisfaction with the response, saying the lawmakers had raised specific questions about how thousands of people identified as noncitizens ended up on New Jersey’s voter rolls.
“We raised legitimate questions after New Jersey admitted that thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote. Rather than simply answering those questions, Governor Sherrill chose to respond with political talking points and personal attacks. Her response was very disappointing and beneath the seriousness of this issue. This was about understanding exactly how this failure occurred, making sure it never happens again, and protecting the integrity of our elections. And this issue is not going away. We will not stop pursuing the facts, demanding answers, and pressing for accountability until we get the full truth.”
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey similarly demanded greater transparency from the state and called for officials to explain both the cause of the registration problem and how they intend to prevent a recurrence.
“The American people — especially New Jerseyans — are owed answers as to how such a catastrophic breach of election security could have occurred. Governor Sherrill and the State of New Jersey must take accountability and demonstrate complete transparency while providing a concrete path forward to ensure that such gross failures cannot threaten the integrity of our elections ever again. Whatever the cause — be it incompetence or something far more sinister — showing the American people how to fix this problem is critical to ensuring faith in future elections. Secure elections are the bedrock of democracy; we must take all steps necessary to ensure that votes are cast only by those who have a right to vote.”
Pfluger also criticized the governor’s reply, saying Sherrill’s “three page response to our letter is long on political attacks and short on answers,” adding, “Americans deserve better. Elections are the last line of defense for a government accountable to its people. Republicans have been raising legitimate concerns about vulnerabilities in our election systems for years, and we will not stop pursuing the truth until every question is answered. It’s more clear than ever that we need to pass the SAVE America Act to make sure our elections are secure, transparent, and worthy of the public’s trust.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York said the unresolved questions surrounding the registrations require a fuller explanation from the governor.
“As I wrote last month, New Jersey has a serious election integrity problem that demands answers. Non-citizens were registered to vote and some cast ballots. Governor Sherrill needs to explain how this happened, why it went undetected, and what safeguards will be put in place to protect our elections.”
{Matzav.com}
