Noncitizens Found on New Jersey Voter Rolls, RNC Chair Pledges Action

Noncitizens have been discovered on New Jersey’s voter rolls, with some having cast ballots in multiple past elections, according to documents obtained through public records requests by the New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) and the Republican National Committee (RNC). RNC Chairman Joe Gruters has pledged to take action, calling the findings evidence of a systemic problem in a Democrat-run state.

Discovery Through Public Records Requests

The NJGOP and RNC requested voter rolls from all 21 counties in New Jersey and found multiple instances of noncitizens seeking naturalization asking to be removed from the rolls, claiming they were unknowingly registered to vote. According to Fox News, which first reported the story, most of the noncitizens found on the rolls were registered as Democrats.

In Atlantic County alone, Fox News Digital reviewed more than 50 documents from noncitizens attesting that they were registered to vote unknowingly. Atlantic County Superintendent of Elections & Commissioner of Registration Maureen Bugdon certified that noncitizens came to her office asking to be removed from the rolls.

Voting History and Registration Mechanism

While most of the letters confirmed that the noncitizens did not have a voting record, some did. One noncitizen, removed from the rolls in 2015, had voted several times in 2000, 2001, and the 2008 general election. Another voted in a 2005 primary and a 2000 municipal election.

Noncitizens reported becoming registered through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). When asked why they wished to be removed, the vast majority checked “other” and wrote that they were not citizens. New Jersey has automatic voter registration through the MVC, meaning eligible individuals are automatically registered when they obtain or renew a driver’s license, relying on applicants affirming their citizenship status.

RNC and NJGOP Response

RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said the group found “hundreds” of noncitizen registrants in New Jersey. “It’s really incredible because here the Democrats are saying that noncitizens never vote, [that] this is a non-issue, but every county we’re finding people that are self-reporting now,” Gruters told Fox News Digital. “This is just the people that have self-reported.”

Gruters said the RNC has “boots on the ground” in 17 states and is “bringing the hammer down” on election integrity. The organization has requested voter roll information from 48 states as part of a broader multi-state effort to access and audit voter registration lists.

NJGOP Chairwoman Christine Giordano Hanlon stated: “We have just begun our analysis and already uncovered hundreds of instances of non-citizens placed on New Jersey’s voter rolls over the past few years. With more records still outstanding, these findings are likely only the beginning.”

State Response and Broader Context

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mickie Sherrill’s office did not return a request for comment. A spokesman for the NJ MVC said it’s “exceedingly rare” that noncitizens end up on the rolls and that the agency uses “rigorous processes” to ensure eligible individuals register to vote.

The discovery comes amid a wider RNC legal campaign to access voter rolls in multiple states, including Delaware, Maryland, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, and North Carolina. The U.S. Department of Justice has also been seeking to obtain voter rolls from all 50 states.

Just weeks earlier, on May 1, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey charged four noncitizens with illegally voting in federal elections and making false statements on citizenship applications, as reported by the Associated Press. The four individuals voted in elections from 2020 to 2024, including two presidential elections.

Analysis and Implications

The story sits at the intersection of two deeply polarized debates in American politics: election integrity and immigration. Republicans argue that lax voter registration processes allow noncitizens to slip through, while Democrats and voting rights advocates contend that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare and that aggressive purging risks disenfranchising eligible voters.

Voting rights organizations, such as Democracy Docket, have framed the RNC’s efforts as a “legal attack on voter rolls” and part of a broader agenda to gain unfettered access to voter information. Courts have previously rejected RNC attempts to purge state voter lists in Arizona and Michigan.

Earlier in 2026, House Republicans passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process. Democrats argue it would make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote.

What’s Next

The RNC’s legal campaign for voter roll access continues across multiple states, with a pending Supreme Court case — Watson vs. RNC — that could reshape election administration by challenging laws allowing ballots cast on election day to be counted days later. Gruters described a potential win in that case as “probably our biggest win ever from an election integrity standpoint.”

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the debate over noncitizen voting and voter roll maintenance is likely to intensify, with both parties positioning themselves on opposite sides of a deeply divisive issue.