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NJ Republicans plan legislation to end automatic voter registration
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jul 23, 2026
Modified Jul 23, 2026
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Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jul 23, 2026
Modified Jul 23, 2026
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New Jersey Republicans are rushing to seize on the issue of illegal voting days after Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill revealed that nearly 400 noncitizens voted in New Jersey elections after a software glitch caused more than 6,000 noncitizens to be registered to vote in the state between June 2023 and June 2024.
State Sen. Kristin Corrado, a Republican and the ranking member on the judiciary committee, told Gothamist her office is working on legislation that would outlaw automatic voter registration by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
“The potential for fraud is something that we warned about,” she said, citing what she called a series of failures with the system.
In 2018, then-Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law that automatically registered residents to vote when they applied for driver's licenses or state IDs in an effort to increase voter participation in elections. On Tuesday, Sherrill said thousands of noncitizens were registered even though they indicated “no” on keypads at the MVC when asked if they were U.S. citizens.
Corrado represents parts of Bergen, Essex and Passaic counties. Prior to joining the state Senate in 2017, she served for seven years as the Passaic County clerk, where she oversaw elections.
She told Gothamist that the Office of Legislative Services is currently drafting the bill and it “hopefully” will be filed this week.
Senate Republicans will also propose voter identification requirements in all future elections and call for regular independent audits to clean up our voter rolls.
Darwin Phan, a spokesperson for Sherrill, criticized the proposals and said the governor is focused on protecting election integrity in the state.
"Republicans would rather make it harder for people to access the ballot box, than face voters and answer for their disastrous policies under President Trump. "
A spokesperson for Senate Democrats declined to comment and referred Gothamist to Senate President Nicholas Scutari’s statement from Tuesday commending Sherrill “taking swift action to launch an independent investigation of what went wrong, and pledging to hold anyone responsible to account.”
Sen. Anthony Bucco, the top Republican in the state Senate, called the proposals “straightforward safeguards” for New Jersey voters.
“New Jerseyans need more than just excuses and finger pointing. They deserve action, and there are common-sense steps we can take right now,” he said**.** “Get the Motor Vehicle Commission out of the voter-registration business, implement voter identification requirements, and establish regular audits to clean up our voter rolls.”
Sherrill said the software glitch was fixed in June 2024, but that she did not learn of the situation until last week. She criticized the Murphy administration for not taking action “years ago” when the problem occurred.
Republicans have also called for a separate independent investigation into the matter. On Tuesday, Sherrill said the state had hired law firm CSG Law to conduct an independent investigation. After Sherrill’s victory in the 2025 governor’s race, three attorneys from the firm served on her transition committee.
State Sen. Joe Pennacchio, a Republican from Morristown, has called on the U.S. attorney general’s office to investigate the matter.
The Department of Justice is now using the revelation about noncitizen voters to ramp up its argument in federal court in a case seeking access to New Jersey’s voter rolls.
This story has been updated with comment from Gov. Sherrill.
Tagged
Politics
new jersey
Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes covers equity and access to opportunity in New Jersey. He joined WNYC and Gothamist in 2023. Before that, he worked as a freelance journalist writing about policing and criminal justice. He has written for ProPublica, CNN, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News and The Appeal. He is also the author of the book, “The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.” In 2019, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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