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EXCLUSIVE — Noncitizens in a key blue state were on the voter rolls for years — and some even voted in prior elections, according to documents obtained via public records request.
The New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) requested voter rolls from all 21 counties in the Garden State and found multiple instances of noncitizens seeking naturalization asking to be removed from the rolls, claiming they were unknowingly registered to vote. Most were registered as Democrats.
Noncitizens cannot vote in state or federal elections, and the candidates for citizenship worried that being on the rolls would disqualify them.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill casts her ballot at a polling location inside Hillside Elementary School in Montclair, N.J., on Nov. 4, 2025, during the New Jersey gubernatorial election. (John Lamparski/Bloomberg)
In official letters viewed by Digital from Atlantic County, Superintendent of Elections & Commissioner of Registration Maureen Bugdon certified that noncitizens came to her asking to be removed.
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“Please allow this letter to confirm that on today’s date, the below referenced individual came before this office to confirm her registration and voter status,” the typical letter reads. “She relayed that she did not wish to be a New Jersey registered voter and does not understand how she became registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles, allegedly.”
Most of the letters confirmed that the noncitizens did not have a voting record, but not all.
One noncitizen, who the county said was removed from the rolls in 2015, voted several times in 2000 and 2001, and in the 2008 general election. Another voted in a primary election in 2005 and a municipal election in 2000.
A letter showing Atlantic County Election Commissioner Maureen Bugdon certifiying that a New Jersey noncitizen was on the voter rolls and wished to be removed. (Obtained by the RNC and NJGOP)
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Other documents showed noncitizens directly asking to be removed from the rolls through a state voter registration cancellation form.
When prompted about why they wished to be removed, the vast majority of the unknowingly registered voters checked a box labeled “other” and wrote that they were not citizens.
In Atlantic County alone, Digital reviewed more than 50 documents from noncitizens attesting that they were registered to vote unknowingly.
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A noncitizen on the New Jersey voter rolls used this removal form to request to be unregistered. (Obtained by the RNC and NJGOP)
RNC Chairman Joe Gruters says the group found hundreds of noncitizen registrants in New Jersey who are likely only the tip of the iceberg, but that New Jersey and other Democrat-run states are unwilling to disclose information about their voter registration list maintenance processes. The organization has requested that information from 48 states.
“I mean, it’s really incredible because here the Democrats are saying that, you know, noncitizens never vote, [that], this is a non-issue, but every county we’re finding people that are self-reporting now, and I’m glad we’re doing these records request because it’s really eye-opening, because this is just the people that have self-reported,” Gruters told Digital.
“You want a democracy that’s secure and elections that are free and safe and that people can depend upon, and people have full confidence in,” he said.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters is claiming victory over Democrat efforts to block efforts to kick noncitizens skipping out of North Carolina jury duty from the state’s voter rolls. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)
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The RNC in 2024 made a full-throated election integrity push to ensure, one that continues to this day, according to Gruters.
He told Digital that the group is “bringing the hammer down” and that it has “boots on the ground” across the country to ensure even more diligence in November.
“We have staffers already in 17 states working on these issues to make sure that, like I said, it goes back to having a safe and secure election that’s free and fair,” he said.
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Gruters is also optimistic about another RNC battle on the election integrity front.
The Supreme Court is soon set to decide on the case of Watson vs. RNC, a challenge to laws that allow ballots to be cast by mail on election day, but counted days later. The RNC’s goal is eliminate the practice, which Gruters highlighted as California continues to count ballots from Tuesday night’s primary elections almost a week after polls closed.
Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas waited to leave the stage at the conclusion of inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He said a win in that case could be “one of our biggest election victories ever.”
“I mean, just what’s happened with [Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate] Spencer Pratt should open your eyes, and you should be sick to your stomach,” he said. “This should not be allowed in America.”
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Gruters said that when elections have an “open-ended target date,” it opens the doors for potential manipulation.
“We’re fighting hard to put an end to this, and this, like I said, this could be probably our biggest win ever from an election integrity standpoint by stopping this and making sure that election day means exactly what it says, election day.”
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mickie Sherrill’s office did not return a request for comment. Neither did the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission or Atlantic County officials.
SEE THE FULL CACHE OF DOCUMENTS HERE:
