Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Administration issued a subpoena to Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-NJ) acting secretary of state on Wednesday, seeking more information about the state’s noncitizen voter registration scandal.
The subpoena is the latest development in the saga over the 6,600 noncitizens who were placed on New Jersey’s voter rolls in what Sherrill called a “software error” that occurred under her predecessor, former Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
House Judiciary Republicans requested information from New Jersey’s secretary of state’s office over the incident in August, but on Wednesday said the response from Sherrill’s administration has been “inadequate.”
“The Department has produced only 12 total documents, and it has not produced any documents that explain how the alleged software error resulting in the registration of noncitizens was discovered or why noncitizens remained on the voter rolls until 2026—two topics about which the Committees specifically inquired,” the House Republicans wrote in the subpoena.
Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Bryan Steil (R-WI), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), and Laurel Lee (R-OH), who each signed the letter, said the Sherrill administration’s response has “impeded the Committees’ ability to conduct oversight and consider legislative reforms.”
“These ineligible voter registrations raise concerns about the application of federal law in New Jersey as it pertains to accurate voter registration, as well as the effect that New Jersey’s failure to identify and remove noncitizens from its voter rolls has on the civil liberties of American voters and their ability to elect their representative,” the House Republicans wrote in the subpoena.
They are requesting that acting Secretary of State Shirley Emehelu produce all of the documents the committees have requested by Nov. 16.
Sherrill slammed the Republican-led subpoena as “political theater” on Wednesday, saying, “I’m focused on governing effectively. Republicans in Congress clearly aren’t.”
“I promised that when we discover a problem, we communicate the facts and fix it – and I meant it,” Sherrill said in a statement. “From the moment we discovered the [Motor Vehicle Commission] registration issue from 2023, we took action immediately, went above and beyond in making agency-wide reforms, and have been transparent every step of the way. We did this so that New Jerseyans can feel confident that we are running the strongest and fairest election in our country.”
“This stands in stark contrast to [President Donald] Trump and his enablers, like Jeff Van Drew and Jim Jordan, who are using their congressional committee not to do the work of the people, but for political theater,” Sherrill said. “That is what this subpoena is, plain and simple.”
NEW JERSEY VOTING FRAUD SCANDAL HEATS UP AS HOUSE GOP AND SOFTWARE COMPANY ENTER FRAY
The subpoena comes less than three weeks out from the crucial midterm elections, in which there are several swing districts to watch in New Jersey. Republicans have raised concerns about the security of the state’s voting systems in the lead-up to the election, given the noncitizen registration gaffe, while Sherrill has insisted her administration has quickly handled the “software error.”
Another layer to this saga is the fact that Republicans initially sent the August request for documents to then-Secretary of State Dale Caldwell, who resigned in September over sexual harassment allegations. Sherrill had called for Caldwell’s resignation and tapped Emehelu to the acting role at the end of September.