DOJ gives New Jersey 5 days to hand over voter data after noncitizen registration scandal

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon doubled down connected nan DOJ's request for New Jersey's elector registration information Wednesday aft Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill's nationalist revelation astir 6,600 noncitizens were added to nan rolls done nan motor-voter process.

Dhillon’s missive to Sherrill came arsenic a slew of lawmakers called for audits and bipartisan practice to reside nan findings, while nan Justice Department noted it remains successful litigation against Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell seeking New Jersey’s physics elector database.

"Ensuring that U.S. citizens' votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens' votes is of paramount importance," Dhillon wrote.

"We truthful constitute to formally petition further accusation to measure New Jersey's compliance pinch various national statutes, arsenic provided successful our July 7, 2026, missive to nan Lieutenant Governor. As we stated successful that letter, we guidelines fresh to thief New Jersey predetermination officials comply pinch nan Help America Vote Act of 2002 and nan National Voter Registration Act of 1993, arsenic outlined successful our memorandum titled, Federal Law Requirements for State and Local Election Officials."

DEMOCRAT NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SAYS THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS DISCOVERED ON VOTER ROLLS, PURGED

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill addresses a crowd successful Middlesex County. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)

Dhillon noted that astir 400 of nan astir 6,600 noncitizens New Jersey said were mistakenly registered to ballot formed ballots.

She gave Sherrill 5 days to supply nan names, individual information, registration dates and precincts of nan 6,600, arsenic good arsenic nan methods and times by which nan 400 who voted formed their ballots, while treating nan missive arsenic a ineligible preservation-of-records petition emblematic successful litigation.

With nan DOJ already engaged successful litigation against Caldwell and nan state, Dhillon said she would notify nan judge successful that lawsuit of nan caller improvement arsenic nan section continues to activity statewide elector registration lists from states including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION

Rep. Mikie Sherrill casts her ballot astatine a polling location wrong Hillside Elementary School successful Montclair, N.J., connected Nov. 4, 2025, during nan New Jersey gubernatorial election. (John Lamparski/Bloomberg)

When reached for comment, nan DOJ provided a abstracted missive Deputy Attorney General Jesus Osete sent to Caldwell and New Jersey Division of Elections Director Donna Barber connected Wednesday, again requesting physics elector registration data.

Osete said nan DOJ has grounding to "ascertain New Jersey's compliance pinch nan database attraction requirements" of nan National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and nan Help America Vote Act of 2002.

He added that nan New Jersey Division of Elections must besides verify that nary further noncitizens are registered connected nan state's elector rolls.

The missive was revenge arsenic an grounds successful nan Justice Department's ongoing suit against New Jersey seeking entree to nan state's electronic elector registration database.

Meanwhile, nan French exertion contractor that useful pinch nan State Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) said precocious Wednesday that work lies not pinch nan MVC but pinch nan Department of State, led by Caldwell, and nan Division of Elections.

Sherrill spokesperson Sean Higgins slammed nan DOJ successful comments to Fox News Digital connected Thursday, saying nan Trump management has a "long history of weaponizing" nan agency for governmental purposes and of attempting to "overturn predetermination results."

"Governor Sherrill has been clear that she will usage each nan ineligible devices disposable to her to protect New Jerseyans' individual information," Higgins said, pointing again to Sherrill's nationalist remarks Wednesday and noting nan governor's "disgust" astatine nan vendor and erstwhile Gov. Philip Murphy's administration.

IDEMIA said successful a connection it has worked pinch nan MVC for 4 decades to process eligible individuals seeking to registry to ballot erstwhile conducting drivers licensing business.

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"IDEMIA’s domiciled is to transmit accusation done nan centrifugal conveyance system. The elector registration accusation is transmitted to nan New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is yet responsible for verifying eligibility to vote," said nan institution — whose American guidelines is successful Reston, Virginia.

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A Welcome to New Jersey motion astatine nan New York authorities statement entering New Jersey. (Najlah Feanny/Corbis via Getty Images)

"Information submitted by IDEMIA must still beryllium validated and adjudicated by nan Division of Elections."

Meanwhile, nan apical Republican connected nan state's Judiciary Committee said she tried aggregate times to property nan rumor of voter-roll integrity pinch Democrats — who power each branches of authorities — since 2019.

"I person been informing ... New Jersey needed stronger safeguards to protect nan integrity of our elections," authorities Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Totowa, said.

"I sent six abstracted letters raising concerns and calling for action and introduced authorities that would person provided a commonsense safeguard by preventing nan MVC from prompting non-citizens to registry to ballot but my warnings were many times ignored by nan Democrats," she said successful a connection that included immoderate of nan letters sent to nan Murphy administration.

"Now we are learning that a catastrophic authorities nonaccomplishment allowed thousands of non-citizens to beryllium registered to vote, and abruptly everyone is acting surprised," she said.

The DOJ appeared to awesome that nan New Jersey lawsuit strengthens nan Trump administration's push for stronger predetermination integrity measures nationwide arsenic aggregate states proceed to defy requests for accusation sharing.