New Jersey Refuses To Cooperate With Feds After Registering Thousands Of Noncitizens To Vote

After New Jersey officials registered roughly 6,600 non-citizens to vote, the state’s Democratic governor is refusing to hand over the records to the feds.

On Tuesday, Democratic New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said she would not cooperate with the Trump administration, which she accused of “weaponizing” such records. Sherrill revealed last week that the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission registered thousands of non-citizens to vote in an apparent error.

“As I have said, I’m not in the habit of turning over private identifying information of the citizens of New Jersey,” Sherrill said. “This federal government is weaponizing the government against individuals that disagree with them.”

“They weaponized my private data against me and my election and so I am working to protect people and their private data here in New Jersey,” she added.

The Trump administration sued New Jersey in February for its “failure to produce their full voter registration lists upon request.”

In light of the latest revelation, the Justice Department sent a letter to Sherrill requesting the names, dates of birth, nationalities, addresses, and registration dates and locations for the 6,600 non-citizens.

Citing a “preliminary analysis,” Sherrill said that fewer than 400 of the non-citizens who were placed on the state’s voter rolls actually cast ballots. The Justice Department asked the governor to share when and where those non-citizens voted.

Sherrill responded that New Jersey would not comply with the request, which she said had “no legal basis.”

Today, I informed @AAGDhillon that New Jersey will not provide the personal information of thousands of New Jersey residents.

The request had no legal basis, and I will always protect New Jerseyans’ personally identifiable information. https://t.co/MP2EPjUyso pic.twitter.com/ONdIteHS8E

— Governor Mikie Sherrill (@GovSherrillNJ) July 28, 2026

Between June 2023 and June 2024, the non-citizens indicated their immigration status in their applications for IDs and driver’s licenses.

Ultimately, Sherrill blamed her predecessor for the purported mistake. She has also opened an investigation into the registration debacle and has instructed state officials to remove any non-citizens from the voter rolls.

The state is also working to replace the vendor responsible for implementing the system under which the error occurred.

“I want to underscore how seriously I take this matter. As a military veteran who swore an oath to defend our Constitution, and as a former federal prosecutor, I believe the integrity of our elections is fundamental to our democracy,” Sherrill said in an earlier press conference.

“I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” the governor said. “This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now.”