President Donald Trump asserted that "thousands" of individuals residing in the U.S. without authorization cast ballots in New Jersey, a claim exceeding the confirmed figures from both federal and state authorities to date.
During a July 22 address in Georgia, Trump stated, "They caught thousands of votes in New Jersey where illegal aliens were allowed to vote. Thousands and thousands of votes." This statement occurred as Trump criticized Democrats for opposing legislation that included provisions of the SAVE America Act voting initiatives.
New Jersey officials have indicated they will continue to investigate the extent of noncitizen voter registration and ballot casting. While more details are anticipated, Trump’s assertion currently contrasts with available information. A request for supporting evidence from the Trump administration regarding his statement did not yield such information.
Trump Administration’s Previous Allegations Regarding Noncitizens on New Jersey Voter Rolls
In documents released around Trump’s July 16 address concerning elections, the Department of Homeland Security reported that "over 250,000 non-citizens are illegally registered to vote in just the four states," naming California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada. The release specified that 35,152 noncitizens were registered to vote in New Jersey, but did not specify how many of these individuals actually voted. Subsequent communications from the department to states indicated, more cautiously than Trump’s claim, that these numbers represented a potential count of noncitizens on the rolls.
On July 21, Governor Mikie Sherrill reported that a software error in the state’s motor vehicle system between June 2023 and June 2024 led to the registration of approximately 6,600 individuals who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens. This error was identified and rectified in June 2024, though it was not publicly disclosed at the time. Sherrill stated that election officials are in the process of removing any improperly registered individuals. She explained that these individuals responded "no" when asked about U.S. citizenship on a keypad during their driver’s license or identification card applications, and the system registered them despite their indication.
Sherrill also noted that a preliminary analysis suggested "fewer than 400 individuals" cast ballots. During a press conference, she added that the majority of these voters were unaffiliated with a political party. If all 400 of these votes were cast by individuals residing in the U.S. illegally, this figure falls far short of the "thousands and thousands" claimed by Trump. (New Jersey expanded eligibility for driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status in 2021.) A spokesperson for Sherrill clarified that the citizenship status of these 400 voters is unknown, only their responses during the software error period.
New Jersey is among several states that have declined to provide voter roll information to the Justice Department, citing privacy concerns. A lawsuit filed by the department against the state is ongoing. Sherrill announced plans to replace the software vendor, IDEMIA, which the company stated was not at fault, attributing the issue to the state.
Contextualizing the Number of Noncitizen Votes
The Department of Homeland Security’s figure of 35,152 noncitizens registered to vote would represent approximately 0.6% of all registered voters in New Jersey. When questioned about its methodology, the department referred to statements from Secretary Markwayne Mullin, which did not address the specific inquiry.
The state’s reported figure of 6,600 registered noncitizen voters would constitute about 0.1% of New Jersey’s registered voters.
The impact of these votes on New Jersey elections remains unclear. Sherrill indicated that the 400 noncitizen ballots could have been cast in any election since 2023. In the 2024 presidential election, New Jersey recorded 4,321,921 votes, with a final margin of 252,498 votes between the candidates. If all 400 votes had been cast in this election, they would have represented less than 0.2% of that margin.
Considering New Jersey’s 12 U.S. House districts, an even distribution of these noncitizen votes would amount to about 33 per district. However, the closest U.S. House margin in New Jersey that year was 12,575 votes, meaning 33 votes would have constituted 0.3% of that margin. State legislative races typically have smaller margins. If these votes were spread across state Assembly and Senate districts, the average number per district would be between five and ten.