The Republican National Committee (RNC) is threatening legal action against New Jersey election officials regarding noncitizens on the state's voter rolls. The committee has issued formal notices of violation under the National Voter Registration Act to the New Jersey secretary of state and election officials in six counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union.
The RNC is demanding records pertaining to noncitizen removals, citizenship verification processes, and other voter roll maintenance activities. Officials have until September 15 to provide these records; failure to do so could result in litigation, according to the RNC.
"Democrat Gov. Mikie Sherrill admitted what the RNC already uncovered through public records requests: Noncitizens are on New Jersey's voter rolls," stated RNC Chairman Joe Gruters. "Now, election officials are refusing to turn over records explaining how it happened. Voters deserve answers, and the RNC is putting officials on notice: Comply with the law, hand over the records or face legal action."
According to RNC claims, records from Bergen County indicated that 134 noncitizens were removed from New Jersey voter rolls between January 2023 and August 2026, with 91 of these registrations linked to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC).
Separately, Governor Sherrill's administration acknowledged that a software error within the MVC improperly registered approximately 6,600 individuals to vote between June 2023 and June 2024. The state reported that roughly 5,100 individuals affected by this error were removed from voter rolls due to a lack of separate eligibility attestation. An additional 1,450 registrations were marked as rejected pending further review by county election officials.
The state indicated that approximately 340 individuals newly registered due to the software error cast ballots. It also identified about 220 individuals affected by the error who voted but had pre-existing registrations or attestations suggesting they might have been validly registered. Governor Sherrill stated that county officials have been instructed to resolve outstanding cases before the November election.
The RNC has previously expressed concerns that Motor Voter laws create vulnerabilities when citizenship is not independently verified. The committee pointed to the 6,600 noncitizen registrations uncovered in New Jersey as evidence of these potential issues.