The New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have identified multiple instances of noncitizens on voter rolls in the Garden State after requesting records from all 21 counties through public records requests, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. The findings show that some noncitizens seeking naturalization asked to be removed from the rolls after discovering they were unknowingly registered, with most listed as Democrats.
Noncitizens are prohibited from voting in state or federal elections under federal law. However, officials said those seeking citizenship expressed concern that being on voter rolls could jeopardize their naturalization applications. In Atlantic County alone, more than 50 documents reviewed by Fox News Digital showed noncitizens attesting they were registered without their knowledge.
The documents include official letters from the Atlantic County Superintendent of Elections and Commissioner of Registration Maureen Bugdon confirming that noncitizens appeared at her office requesting removal from voter rolls.
"Please allow this letter to confirm that on today's date, the below referenced individual came before this office to confirm her registration and voter status," one typical letter reads. "She relayed that she did not wish to be a New Jersey registered voter and does not understand how she became registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles, allegedly."
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocates and Democratic officials have long maintained that instances of noncitizen voting are exceedingly rare and that existing safeguards prevent widespread fraud. Voting rights groups argue that the focus on noncitizen registration errors distracts from broader efforts to expand access to the ballot box for eligible citizens.
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill's office did not return a request for comment on the findings. Neither did the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission or Atlantic County officials, limiting direct Democratic response to this specific investigation.
Civil rights organizations have historically cautioned against using isolated registration errors as evidence of systemic problems, noting that millions of legitimate voters could be disenfranchised by overly aggressive list maintenance efforts. These groups typically advocate for automatic voter registration systems that verify citizenship status at DMV interactions while ensuring no eligible citizen is purged from rolls.
What the Right Is Saying
RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said the findings represent only a fraction of potential issues, arguing that New Jersey and other states run by Democrats have been unwilling to disclose information about their voter registration maintenance processes. The RNC has requested similar documentation from 48 states.
"I mean, it's really incredible because here the Democrats are saying that, you know, noncitizens never vote, [that], this is a non-issue, but every county we're finding people that are self-reporting now, and I'm glad we're doing these records request because it's really eye-opening, because this is just the people that have self-reported," Gruters told Fox News Digital.
The RNC has launched what it describes as a multimillion-dollar election integrity operation with staff deployed in 17 states ahead of major elections. Gruters said the organization is "bringing the hammer down" and has "boots on the ground" to ensure secure elections.
"You want a democracy that's secure and elections that are free and safe and that people can depend upon, and people have full confidence in," he said.
What the Numbers Show
The investigation yielded specific data from county records. In Atlantic County alone, officials reviewed more than 50 documents from noncitizens attesting they were registered to vote without their knowledge or consent through DMV registration processes.
Four noncitizens have been charged with illegally voting in federal elections spanning 2020, 2022, and 2024 in New Jersey, according to documents cited in the reporting. Some unregistered noncitizens who did not face charges had voting records dating back years, including one individual removed from rolls in 2015 who voted multiple times in 2000 and 2001, as well as in the 2008 general election. Another voted in a primary election in 2005 and a municipal election in 2000.
The vast majority of noncitizens requesting removal through official cancellation forms checked a box labeled "other" and wrote that they were not citizens when prompted about their reason for wanting to be removed from voter rolls, the documents show.
New Jersey has approximately 6.2 million registered voters according to state data. The number of confirmed noncitizen registrations represents a fraction of the total electorate, though election integrity advocates argue even small numbers matter when elections are decided by narrow margins.
The Bottom Line
The findings in New Jersey highlight ongoing tensions between election security advocates and voting rights groups over voter roll maintenance practices. While the documented cases represent a small percentage of New Jersey's 6.2 million registered voters, both sides agree that preventing noncitizen registration is important for election integrity.
The RNC has indicated it will continue its records requests across multiple states and may pursue additional legal challenges. The Supreme Court is set to decide on Watson v. RNC, a case challenging laws allowing mail ballots counted days after Election Day, which Gruters described as potentially "one of our biggest election victories ever" from an election integrity standpoint.
Democratic officials in New Jersey have not responded directly to these specific findings. Voting rights advocates maintain that robust verification systems already exist and that the focus should remain on ensuring all eligible citizens can exercise their right to vote rather than restrictive measures that could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
What happens next: The RNC has signaled it will continue its multi-state records requests and may use findings to support pending litigation. New Jersey elections officials have not announced any policy changes in response to the documented registration errors.