TRENTON, N.J., Aug. 28 (Nationwide Times) — The Republican National Committee has warned New Jersey’s secretary of state and election officials in six counties that it may sue if they do not provide records about noncitizen registrations and voter-roll maintenance by Sept. 15.
The notices went to Secretary of State Tahesha Way and officials in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties. The RNC says the records are needed to examine how noncitizens appeared on voter rolls, how officials verified citizenship and how registrations were removed or rejected.
The dispute is part of a larger fight over election records and safeguards in New Jersey. It also comes after the state acknowledged that a software error at the Motor Vehicle Commission sent information about roughly 6,600 people to election officials even though they had indicated they were not U.S. citizens.
What is the RNC asking for?
The RNC says its notices invoke the National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA. The federal law sets rules for voter registration and requires states to maintain accurate voter lists while limiting improper removals.
The committee is seeking documents about noncitizen removals, citizenship-verification procedures and other list-maintenance work. The RNC said officials who do not provide the records by Sept. 15 could face litigation.
The RNC previously filed a lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court in Mercer County seeking voter-roll maintenance records from the state Division of Elections. RNC Chair Joe Gruters said the organization was suing to obtain records and ensure that New Jersey follows federal law.
The RNC and the New Jersey Republican Party also requested voter rolls from all 21 counties. They said their review found cases in which people seeking naturalization asked to be removed from the rolls and said they had been registered without knowing it.
What happened at the Motor Vehicle Commission?
New Jersey officials said an MVC software error transmitted information for about 6,600 people to the Division of Elections between June 2023 and June 2024. The people had indicated that they were not U.S. citizens.
The state said about 5,100 registrations were placed in deleted status because there was no other registration, attestation or transaction showing that the individuals were eligible. Another roughly 1,450 registrations were marked rejected while county officials review additional records. Those individuals cannot vote unless their eligibility is verified, according to the state’s account.
The House Judiciary Committee’s account says the registration issue ended after the MVC asked technology contractor IDEMIA to change software settings in June 2024. The committee also said the affected registrations were not immediately removed and that the issue was not publicly disclosed at that time.
The MVC has said noncitizens appearing on voter rolls is rare. An MVC spokesman said people who register through the agency affirm their citizenship and that suspected cases are taken seriously.
Does being on a voter roll mean someone voted?
No. A registration is not the same as a cast ballot. The available accounts do not establish that every person affected by the software error voted, that any ballot was counted improperly or that anyone was charged with a crime.
The Justice Department has asked Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration for information about the roughly 6,600 affected people, including identities, nationalities, addresses and voting records. The request also sought records related to people reported to have cast ballots; one account put that figure at about 400.
The precise number of people who voted, whether their ballots were counted and what happened in each case have not been established in the records summarized here. The figures also describe different stages of the state’s review: people affected by the software error, registrations placed in deleted status and registrations rejected pending review.
What other investigations are underway?
Republican-led House committees have asked New Jersey for records involving the Help America Vote Act, the NVRA and the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Their requests include information about election safeguards, the MVC software error, communications with IDEMIA and use of the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, known as SAVE.
The committees set an Aug. 17 deadline for the records. The Justice Department separately demanded information from the state. The supplied records do not show whether New Jersey officials met either demand.
A federal judge also rejected an RNC effort to obtain broad portions of New Jersey voter-roll data, according to a report cited in the research materials. The judge, case number and terms of that ruling were not identified in the available information.
What happens next?
The six counties and the secretary of state were given until Sept. 15 to provide the records sought by the RNC. The RNC has said it may pursue legal action if officials do not comply.
The available information does not establish whether the officials complied, whether the RNC filed another lawsuit or how any court would rule. The central questions remain how the registrations entered the voter rolls, whether any eligible voters were affected by the cleanup and whether any noncitizen cast a ballot that was counted unlawfully.
