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 they could face legal action unless they provide records tied to noncitizen voter 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 said. The records request seeks information about removals from voter rolls, citizenship-verification efforts and other steps used to keep registration lists accurate.
The dispute is part of a wider Republican effort to examine how about 6,600 people were sent to New Jersey election officials for voter-registration processing even though they had indicated to the Motor Vehicle Commission that they were not U.S. citizens.
What is the RNC asking for?
The RNC says the officials must provide records under the National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA. The federal law requires states to maintain accurate voter-registration lists while also protecting eligible voters from being improperly removed.
The RNC said records from Bergen County showed that 134 noncitizens were removed from New Jersey voter rolls between January 2023 and August 2026. It said 91 of those registrations were linked to the Motor Vehicle Commission, the state agency that processes driver and motor-vehicle transactions.
The committee and the New Jersey Republican Party also requested voter rolls from all 21 counties. They said the records included cases in which people seeking naturalization asked to be removed from the rolls, saying they had been registered without realizing it.
The RNC said officials have not provided records that explain how the registrations appeared on the rolls or how the state handled them. “Voters deserve answers,” the RNC said in its notice, warning officials to comply with the law or face litigation.
The notices are not themselves a court ruling, and the supplied records do not establish whether the RNC has filed a new lawsuit over the Sept. 15 demand.
How did the registration problem occur?
New Jersey officials said a software error at the Motor Vehicle Commission transmitted information for about 6,600 people to the state Division of Elections between June 2023 and June 2024. The people had indicated that they were not U.S. citizens.
The state administration said about 5,100 registrations were placed in deleted status because the individuals had no other registration, attestation or transaction showing that they 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 administration.
A congressional account says the registration issue ended after the Motor Vehicle Commission asked technology contractor IDEMIA to change software settings in June 2024. The same account says the affected registrations were not removed immediately.
The Motor Vehicle Commission said noncitizens appearing on the rolls is rare. It also said people who register through the agency affirm that they are U.S. citizens. The agency said such cases are taken seriously.
Does registration prove that someone voted?
No. Being listed as a registered voter does not show that a person cast a ballot. The available material does not establish how many of the affected individuals voted, whether any ballots were counted or whether anyone was charged with a crime.
The Justice Department has sought information about the approximately 6,600 affected people, including their identities, nationalities, addresses and voting records. The department’s request also included records concerning about 400 people reported to have cast ballots, but the precise number and the status of any ballots are not established in the available records.
Those details matter because voter registration, voting and an illegally cast ballot are separate questions. Officials must determine whether a person was registered, whether that person voted, whether the person was eligible and whether any ballot was counted.
Who else is seeking records?
Republican-led congressional committees gave New Jersey an Aug. 17 deadline for records concerning compliance with the Help America Vote Act, the NVRA and the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Their requests covered the state’s safeguards, the Motor Vehicle Commission software error, communications with IDEMIA and the possible use of the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, known as SAVE.
The RNC also previously sued the New Jersey Division of Elections in Mercer County Superior Court for voter-roll maintenance records. A federal judge separately rejected an RNC effort to obtain broad access to New Jersey voter-roll data, according to reporting on the proceeding. The available material does not identify the judge, case number or full ruling.
The current RNC notices focus on the secretary of state and officials in the six counties. The supplied records do not show whether those officials have responded, met the Sept. 15 deadline or faced additional litigation.
For now, the central issue is record access: Republicans are seeking documentation about how the registrations were created and removed, while New Jersey officials have described the episode as a software error and outlined steps to delete or reject the affected registrations. The available information does not resolve every question about the people involved or whether any improper votes were cast.
