House Republicans have subpoenaed New Jersey’s secretary of state for records explaining how approximately 6,600 people who identified themselves as noncitizens were improperly registered to vote through a state motor vehicle system, escalating a dispute over election administration less than two weeks before Election Day.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), chairman of a House Judiciary subcommittee, announced the subpoena on October 21 alongside House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) and Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL).
The lawmakers say New Jersey has failed to provide sufficient documents about the registration error despite months of requests. According to a letter accompanying the subpoena, the state has produced 12 documents, none of which adequately explained how the problem was discovered or why the registrations remained on voter rolls until 2026, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s reporting.
The registrations resulted from a software error at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission between June 2023 and June 2024. People who answered that they were not U.S. citizens were nevertheless registered to vote. The error was corrected in June 2024, but the state did not publicly disclose the problem until July 2026.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who took office this year, said she learned of the issue shortly before its public disclosure and ordered an investigation and the removal of improperly registered voters. State officials subsequently removed approximately 5,100 registrations, flagged another 1,450 for county review and found that roughly 340 people registered through the error had cast ballots.
Sherrill has characterized the congressional investigation as political theater. Republicans argue the lack of documentation raises questions about the state’s safeguards against improper voter registration and its compliance with federal election laws.
The subpoena seeks records covering the software malfunction, the state’s voter-registration procedures, citizenship verification and the steps taken to identify and remove the affected registrations. The House Judiciary Committee Republicans’ announcement outlines the committee’s demands.
The dispute also raises questions about the state’s response under former Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, whose administration was in office when the software error occurred.
The congressional committees say they previously narrowed their initial requests in an effort to speed up document production. They now want records explaining how the state identified the problem, what officials knew and when they acted.
The investigation’s central question remains whether New Jersey can provide a clear, documented account of how the error occurred and why the affected registrations were not corrected sooner.
