New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is blocking a Department of Justice investigation into noncitizen voting after admitting that 6,600 ineligible voters were mistakenly registered in her state, with approximately 400 casting ballots in elections.

Governor Blocks Federal Investigation

After acknowledging the registration errors on July 21, Sherrill refused a DOJ demand to provide the list of noncitizen voters. The Democratic governor claimed the federal request violated the Privacy Act and lacked legal basis. In a letter posted to social media Tuesday, she stated that New Jersey would not provide personally identifiable information of residents to the Trump administration’s Justice Department.

Sherrill attributed the wrongful registrations to a software error at the Motor Vehicle Commission. However, the company handling the commission’s data transmission disputed this explanation, noting that all transmitted information must still be validated and approved by the Division of Elections before voters are registered.

DOJ Vows to Obtain Records

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon responded forcefully on Wednesday, rejecting the governor’s refusal to cooperate. Dhillon stated that New Jersey has a legal duty to maintain accurate voter rolls and remove ineligible voters. She emphasized that the DOJ request is grounded in legal authority and promised to obtain the information through all available legal means.

The federal official argued that Sherrill’s resistance does nothing to protect law-abiding New Jersey voters. The confrontation escalates tensions between state and federal authorities over election integrity enforcement, with the DOJ determined to identify noncitizens who participated in elections.

Accusations of Weaponization

Sherrill accused the Trump administration of weaponizing government power against political opponents. When questioned by reporters about compliance with the DOJ demand, the governor claimed the federal government previously weaponized her private data against her during her own election. She positioned her refusal as protecting New Jersey residents from what she characterized as politically motivated government overreach.

According to Sherrill, the 400 noncitizens who voted were distributed across the state and included Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters. The governor has not announced plans to remove the remaining 6,200 improperly registered noncitizens from voter rolls or detailed what enforcement actions, if any, will be taken against those who cast illegal ballots. The legal standoff between New Jersey and federal authorities continues with no resolution in sight.