Nineteen House Republicans are pressing Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) to explain how approximately 6,600 noncitizens were registered through the state’s motor-vehicle system and how roughly 400 of them were able to cast ballots.
The lawmakers, led by Republican Study Committee member Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), sent Sherrill a letter Friday seeking written responses to 12 questions about the failure, including whether any affected race was decided by a margin smaller than the number of unlawfully cast ballots in that jurisdiction.
“This right here is exactly why we should require ID to vote in our elections. We need answers about how this happened, why it was not caught sooner, and whether more ineligible registrations remain,” Van Drew told Breitbart News.
The letter, obtained by Breitbart News, cites information released by Sherrill’s administration showing that the affected individuals selected “no” when asked whether they were United States citizens while applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards. Their information was nevertheless transmitted for voter registration between June 2023 and June 2024.
The lawmakers raised the possibility that the failure extended beyond a single software problem because New Jersey’s vendor, IDEMIA, has publicly stated that its responsibility was limited to transmitting information collected through the motor-vehicle system. According to the company’s account cited in the letter, the New Jersey Department of State’s Division of Elections was ultimately responsible for verifying voter eligibility and adjudicating information submitted by IDEMIA.
“If accurate, this indicates the failure was not confined to a vendor’s software error but extended to the State’s own eligibility-verification process,” the lawmakers wrote. “This raises the question of why individuals who had affirmatively identified themselves as noncitizens were nonetheless validated and adjudicated as eligible voters.”
The signers requested details about the testing, quality-control procedures, audits, and certification requirements conducted before the affected software was deployed. They also asked Sherrill whether her administration agreed with IDEMIA’s description of the division of responsibility and, if so, what validation or adjudication procedures the Division of Elections failed to perform.
The letter asks the administration to provide the precise number of affected registrations and identify the primary, general, municipal, school board, special, or federal elections in which the affected individuals cast ballots. The lawmakers are also seeking a breakdown of the registrants’ countries of citizenship and whether any country or group of countries represented a disproportionate share.
Among the other questions is whether New Jersey has determined that any affected race was decided by a margin smaller than the number of unlawfully cast ballots in the relevant jurisdiction.
The lawmakers also want confirmation that all affected registrations have been removed or otherwise placed into an ineligible status, the dates on which those actions were completed, and information about notices provided to individuals who may have been led by the state’s error to believe they were legally permitted to vote.
They asked whether Sherrill will publicly release the complete investigative report, including its methodology and supporting data, and whether her administration will cooperate fully with Congress, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal authorities investigating noncitizen registration and voting.
The letter further asks whether Sherrill supports requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and, if not, what alternative safeguard would have prevented the failure. The lawmakers requested information about administrative, technological, contractual, or legislative changes New Jersey will implement before the 2026 general election and whether state officials or contractors will be held accountable.
They also asked whether the state will pursue reimbursement, damages, contract termination, or other remedies from the responsible vendor.
“Democrats cannot keep treating election integrity as negotiable when it is the last line of defense for our republic. We look forward to Governor Sherrill’s prompt response,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) told Breitbart News.
The letter was also signed by Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL), Tony Wied (R-WI), Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Ben Cline (R-VA), Clay Fuller (R-GA), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Max Miller (R-OH), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), Tim Moore (R-NC), Dan Meuser (R-PA), and Stephanie Bice (R-OK).
The House Republicans requested complete written responses from Sherrill no later than August 21, 2026.
Sherrill said Tuesday, “Roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024” were registered through the state’s motor-vehicle system, with a preliminary review finding that “fewer than 400 individuals” cast ballots. She said she “immediately” ordered an investigation and the removal of erroneous registrations, while the state began replacing the system’s vendor. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was “investigating this unlawful dilution of American votes,” while Vice President JD Vance urged Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) to support the SAVE America Act. Neither senator had publicly responded to Vance’s appeal.
