New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill says her administration is moving to correct a long-standing MVC voter-registration problem while accusing congressional Republicans of using the issue for political gain.
TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Mikie Sherrill issued a sharply worded response Friday to a group of House Republicans who questioned her administration over problems involving New Jersey’s voter-registration system, defending the state’s response while turning the criticism back on several of the lawmakers who signed the letter.
The dispute centers on a registration error involving the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission that Sherrill says occurred years before she took office.
In her Aug. 21 letter, Sherrill said her administration publicly disclosed the problem on July 21 and immediately began working to correct it, including removing affected individuals from voter rolls where appropriate. She also said she ordered an independent investigation being conducted by a bipartisan firm led by a former New Jersey attorney general who served under a Republican governor.
“My administration is fully committed to ensuring that elections in New Jersey remain free and fair,” Sherrill wrote, adding that election integrity is being treated as a matter of “the utmost seriousness.” (NJ.gov)
But much of the governor’s response was aimed directly at the Republican lawmakers who sent her the July 24 letter.
Sherrill accused them of being more interested in turning the voter-registration issue into a political weapon than in protecting elections.
“Washington Republicans, on the other hand, seem much more concerned with using the issue for political gain than they are with protecting our elections,” she wrote.
She then pointed to the political records of some of the signatories, saying several supported President Donald Trump’s efforts that she characterized as undermining the election system and reducing election-security funding.
Sherrill also noted that seven signatories voted to challenge electoral votes following the 2020 presidential election. She further alleged that one of the lawmakers employed a political operative who had been convicted of voter fraud, bribery and blackmail.
Sherrill disputes SAVE Act argument
The governor also rejected the Republicans’ claim that the SAVE America Act would have prevented the New Jersey registration problem.
According to Sherrill, individuals affected by the MVC issue had indicated that they were not U.S. citizens, although later investigation found that some may in fact have held valid voter registrations.
She argued that the legislation cited by Republicans would therefore not necessarily have prevented what happened in New Jersey.
Sherrill also raised concerns about the federal SAVE database used to identify potentially ineligible voters.
She cited Texas as an example, saying the state’s secretary of state acknowledged cases in which the system flagged U.S. citizens as potentially ineligible voters, with some possibly being removed from voter rolls unfairly.
Fight over federal control of elections
The letter goes beyond New Jersey’s MVC problem and enters a broader national debate over who should control voter-registration systems.
Sherrill pushed back against proposals to expand the federal government’s role, including the creation of a centralized voter registry.
She argued that such a system could create privacy concerns and increase the potential for abuse of power, while noting that the U.S. constitutional system gives states primary responsibility for administering elections.
The governor said her administration would continue releasing information about the MVC investigation and pledged to protect voters’ private information, the integrity of New Jersey voter rolls and the state’s elections.
“The people of New Jersey have my commitment that we will protect the private information of New Jersey voters, protect the integrity of our voter rolls, and ensure our elections remain free, fair, and secure,” Sherrill wrote at the conclusion of the letter.
The exchange is the latest example of how election security, voter eligibility and the division of power between states and Washington are becoming increasingly prominent political issues ahead of future elections.
Source: Office of Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Gov. Sherrill’s official X account
By NJ RADAR Team