New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday that she will not comply with a Department of Justice request for personal information related to approximately 6,600 non-citizens erroneously registered to vote in the state. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon had demanded the names, dates of birth, addresses, nationalities, and registration dates of these individuals, as well as details on the 400 believed to have cast ballots, by July 21.
Sherrill stated in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the request lacked a legal basis and that she would "always protect New Jerseyans’ personally identifiable information." She attributed the error to a "serious software error" within the state's Motor Vehicle System, reportedly involving French tech company IDEMIA. However, the software company contends that the state's department of elections holds ultimate responsibility for verifying voter eligibility.
Dhillon countered Sherrill's refusal, asserting that "NJ has a legal duty to keep ineligible voters off its rolls" and that the DOJ would pursue the information through "all legal means." The DOJ had initially stated its investigation into the matter was related to "unlawful dilution of American votes" and cited the incident in its ongoing lawsuit seeking access to New Jersey's voter roll data.
The governor's decision comes after she joined 23 other Democratic governors in criticizing President Trump's July 16 comments on election integrity. Sherrill had called Trump's remarks about non-citizens voting and alleged Chinese interference "deeply alarming" and an attempt to "undermine free and fair elections." Dhillon claimed Sherrill was aware of the New Jersey voter registration issue when she made those comments, accusing the governor of hypocrisy.