New Jersey Senate Republicans

07/30/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/30/2026 14:04

Pennacchio: NJ Should Cooperate with the Feds to Clean Voter Rolls

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Pennacchio: NJ Should Cooperate with the Feds to Clean Voter Rolls

Joe Pennacchio Posted on July 30, 2026

Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris, Passaic) called on Governor Sherrill to fully cooperate with federal authorities to investigate New Jersey's non-citizen voter registration scandal and support legislative efforts to ensure those responsible are held accountable.

On a recent episode of Ask Governor Sherrill, the governor dismissed calls for a bipartisan select committee with subpoena power as a witch hunt and again miscategorized the scandal as a software error. IDEMIA, the vendor responsible for the Motor Vehicle Commission's software said that the automatic voter registration of non-citizens was a setting approved by New Jersey officials.

"This is a stunning revelation from IDEMIA that demands accountability from Murphy administration officials," said Senator Pennacchio. "The Governor stated this situation requires answers, but those answers will not come from wasting taxpayer dollars, dismissing legitimate questions from lawmakers as a witch hunt, or obsessing over the President. New Jerseyans deserve to know the full scope of this administrative malpractice. Is the state-led investigation examining only the so-called software error or is it looking into broader concerns raised by IDEMIA, the 75,000 or more non-citizens reportedly summoned for jury duty every year, and the significant discrepancy between the state's 6,600 figure and the Department of Homeland Security's estimate of 35,000 non-citizens on our voter rolls? That is why I called on the U.S. Attorney to expand its investigation and ensure every possible avenue is being pursued. Taxpayers deserve an investigation that follows the facts wherever they lead, not one limited by partisan convenience."

Last week, Senator Pennacchio called on Assistant U.S. Attorney Harmeet Dhillon to expand their investigation after it was reported that 75,000 non-citizens are summoned for jury duty each year in New Jersey.

During the episode, Governor Sherrill "snidely" dismissed concerns, as reported by Insider NJ, that more than 75,000 non-citizens are summoned for jury duty each year in New Jersey, noting that various state databases are used to compile the state's jury pool.

"The Governor offered to 'educate' me, but the facts already did. Here's a refresher-the Administrative Office of the Courts confirmed that jury lists are compiled using records from the Division of Elections, MVC, and the Division of Taxation. The simple fact is that the same state systems contributed to multiple government functions, and this scandal proves those systems deserve scrutiny. Instead of lecturing lawmakers, the Governor should focus on providing answers."

New Jersey Senate Republicans published this content on July 30, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 30, 2026 at 20:04 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]