The chairwoman of the New Jersey Republican Party says the more than 6,600 non-citizens recently identified on the state’s voter rolls represent only a fraction of the problem, arguing that the true number of improper registrations is likely much higher and that additional revelations are expected.

Speaking Sunday on 77 WABC’s “Cats Roundtable,” New Jersey GOP Chairwoman Christine Hanlon disputed the scope of the figures released by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill, insisting the problem extends well beyond what has been publicly acknowledged.

“They’re indicating it’s over 6,000, but I know it’s more than that,” Hanlon told host John Catsimatidis.

“So it’s more to come,” she added.

Last week, Sherrill disclosed that more than 6,000 non-citizens were mistakenly placed on New Jersey’s voter rolls and that roughly 400 of those individuals ultimately cast ballots in state elections between June 2023 and June 2024.

According to state officials, the improper registrations occurred during the administration of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s automatic voter registration system, which enrolls eligible residents when they apply for identification.

Reacting to the governor’s disclosure, Hanlon argued that Republicans have been raising concerns about election integrity for years.

“Wow. This is something we’ve been talking about for a long time,” Hanlon said Sunday of the egregious snafu.

“They admitted non-citizens were on the voting rolls.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, New Jersey officials and software vendor IDEMIA have each pointed to the other as being responsible for the breakdown. Sherrill’s administration has also retained the law firm CSG Law to conduct an independent review.

The governor attributed the registrations to what she described as a “serious software error” within the state’s motor vehicle system involving French technology company IDEMIA.

IDEMIA, however, has rejected that explanation, saying the state possessed information identifying those applicants as non-citizens but nevertheless proceeded to register them to vote.

Automatic voter registration through departments of motor vehicles is used in dozens of states across the country.

Hanlon argued that even a relatively small number of improper registrations could have significant consequences in close elections.

“Elections come down to a small number of votes. This type of issue cannot be dismissed or pushed aside,” Hanlon said.

According to Ballotpedia, more than a dozen New Jersey elections over the past decade have been decided by margins of 10 votes or fewer.

Hanlon called for a comprehensive investigation and broad policy reforms, rejecting suggestions that the issue was simply an isolated technical failure.

“Full investigations need to happen, and policy changes need to happen,” Hanlon said. “The governor of New Jersey is trying to say, ‘It’s this one glitch, one tiny thing. A software glitch during a short time that allowed this to happen.’ I know that’s not the whole story.

“We are pushing to expose the rest of the story and really push for policy changes,” she said. “It is bad policies that lead to these election-integrity issues.

“It’s the main focus for me. It’s the main focus for the RNC [Republican National Committee], and for so many of our Republicans across our state and across the country. We need election integrity.”

The controversy comes as congressional Republicans continue advancing legislation aimed at tightening election procedures, an effort strongly backed by President Trump.

In a recent primetime address, Trump asserted that nearly 250,000 non-citizens had been registered to vote across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and Nevada, including as many as 35,152 in New Jersey alone.

Last week, the Republican-controlled House approved legislation that paired a voter identification requirement with a ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks. Every Republican voted in favor of the bill, while all but 13 Democrats opposed it, arguing that the voter ID provision would make it more difficult for eligible Americans to cast ballots.

Trump has also made passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act one of his top legislative priorities for 2026. The proposal would require documentary proof of citizenship before registering to vote in federal elections, though it has stalled in the Senate. Republican lawmakers are now pursuing a revised version in hopes of advancing the legislation.

{Matzav.com}