Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the below statement following New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill’s announcement that a “software error” within the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s voter-registration system resulted in approximately 6,600 non-U.S. citizens being registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024, with 400 of those individuals going on to cast ballots in official elections:

                “This disturbing revelation out of Trenton—perhaps only the tip of the iceberg—confirms what Republicans have known all along: that current U.S. voter-registration systems are inadequate, ill-maintained, and putting the integrity and security of our elections at grave risk.

                “This failure is not merely a ‘glitch’—it is a catastrophic and negligent betrayal of election integrity and New Jerseyans’ trust.

                “This embarrassing blunder by New Jersey Democrat administrations exemplifies why the Senate must pass the SAVE America Act. This commonsense and deeply needed legislation would require prospective voters to present valid proof of U.S. citizenship prior to registering to vote in federal elections, as well as to show government-issued photo identification before casting federal ballots.

                “Election security is fundamental, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to immediately take up the SAVE America Act for a vote. As the current disaster in Trenton has demonstrated, this legislation is not an answer in search of a problem—it is a necessary safeguard against election interference that is already underway.

                “The United States was designed to be a free and fair representative democracy, and our citizens should be confident that the outcomes of our elections were decided by fellow Americans. Unfortunately, the State of New Jersey has betrayed that critical trust through their admission that our elections have been left susceptible to foreign interference through noncitizen voting.”

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