The U.S. Department of Justice has intensified its scrutiny of New Jersey's election system, giving Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill a five-day deadline to hand over comprehensive voter registration data after the state revealed that approximately 6,600 noncitizens were mistakenly added to the voter rolls. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent a formal letter to Sherrill on Wednesday, demanding detailed information about the individuals affected and the circumstances surrounding their registration, following Sherrill's public acknowledgment of the scandal.
Dhillon's letter emphasized the critical importance of protecting the integrity of U.S. elections. She wrote that ensuring American citizens' votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizen votes is of paramount importance. The Justice Department is seeking the names, personal information, registration dates, and precincts of all 6,600 noncitizens who were added to the rolls, as well as the methods and times by which the approximately 400 who cast ballots voted. The letter also serves as a legal preservation-of-records request, which is typical in ongoing litigation.
The DOJ is already engaged in a lawsuit against New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, seeking access to the state's electronic voter database. Dhillon indicated that she would notify the judge in that case about the new development as the department continues to pursue statewide voter registration lists from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In a separate letter, Deputy Attorney General Jesus Osete reiterated the request for electronic voter registration data, citing the need to ascertain New Jersey's compliance with the list maintenance requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
The scandal has sparked a fierce political backlash. Sherrill's spokesman, Sean Higgins, accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the Justice Department for political purposes and attempting to overturn election results. He stated that the governor would use all legal tools available to protect New Jerseyans' personal information. Meanwhile, the French technology contractor IDEMIA, which works with the State Motor Vehicle Commission, shifted responsibility to the Department of State and the Division of Elections, saying its role is only to transmit information through the motor vehicle system and that voter registration data must be validated by the state.
Republican lawmakers have seized on the revelations, calling for audits and bipartisan cooperation. State Senator Kristin Corrado, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said she had been warning about the need for stronger voter-roll safeguards since 2019 and had sent six letters to the previous administration that were ignored. She described the situation as a catastrophic government failure that allowed thousands of noncitizens to be registered to vote. The DOJ has signaled that the New Jersey case strengthens the Trump administration's push for stronger election integrity measures nationwide, as multiple states continue to resist requests for information sharing.