GOP renews hysteria over New Jersey voter registration snafu, still seeking voter data

The GOP is escalating threats against New Jersey, months after a software glitch that erroneously resulted in fewer than 400 ineligible people voting. Republicans immediately seized on the error to advance the Department of Justice’s attempt at a voter data grab this summer. 

Three months later, the government is back at it, with House Republicans subpoenaing acting Secretary of State Shirley Emehelu (D) Wednesday for additional documents the legislators claim they need to oversee the investigation. While around 6,000 people were registered, only around 400 noncitizen votes were cast, and they had no impact on any election, the state said at the time.

The move follows a concerning escalation of President Donald Trump’s crusade to root out barely there noncitizen voting less than two weeks before the midterm election, with California as the focus.

“New Jersey improperly registered more than 6,000 noncitizens to vote, yet has failed to explain how this happened or why they remained on voter rolls until 2026,” Representative Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) wrote in a social media post Wednesday.

Lee joined fellow Republican Reps. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) as signatories on the letter repeatedly claiming New Jersey’s response to the error has been “inadequate.” 

The state produced 12 documents, including email exchanges between the Department of Elections and elections officials and between the Department and the third-party software company the state faulted for the error, as well as a letter between Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) and former Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, according to the subpoena letter. 

Sherrill’s office said the error occurred when the software company marked roughly 6,600 people as U.S. citizens even after they marked “no” while applying for driver’s licenses or other identification cards.

Sherrill refused to hand over identification information for the around 6,000 noncitizens mistakenly registered to vote, warning the government was “working to weaponize personal data.” The Department of Justice lost its legal challenge seeking voter registration data in New Jersey in July, in a string of defeats that’s now mounted to 0-26.

“Instead of actually doing anything to make our elections safer or addressing issues Americans care about, like skyrocketing prices, Washington Republicans are choosing to play political games just thirteen days before the midterm elections,” Sherrill wrote in a statement Wednesday.