Trump Seizes on New Jersey Admission That Noncitizens Voted

Trump points to New Jersey's disclosure that a motor vehicle glitch registered 6,660 noncitizens and that nearly 400 cast ballots in recent elections.

First Published: July 22, 2026, 3:56 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump seized on New Jersey’s admission that noncitizens voted in recent elections, calling the disclosure proof of what he described as “A Crooked Election System.” Trump tied the state’s acknowledgment to his broader push on voter-roll integrity.

Trump framed the New Jersey disclosure as vindication. He argued Democrats had dismissed his warnings before conceding a problem existed.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, blamed a software glitch in the state’s motor vehicle system for registering 6,660 noncitizens to vote, according to justthenews. She acknowledged that as many as 400 of them cast ballots in recent elections despite a legal ban on foreigners voting in federal races.

Here is the full post on Truth Social: “A Crooked Election System!!! SAVE AMERICA!!! NJ governor forced to admit hundreds of foreigners voted in elections after Dems claimed no problem: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/state-motor-vehicle-system-registers-6600-non-citizens-vote-new-jersey” on July 22, 2026 at 6:01 AM ET. Trump amplified the report by mentioning the source (see justthenews).

This is the first message released by Trump today. On average, Trump produces roughly 12 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in his recent messaging, with 102 of his 503 posts over the last 30 days focused on elections.

The applicants correctly indicated that they were not U.S. citizens when applying for driver’s licenses and identification cards, but the system recorded them as citizens, according to justthenews. The error occurred under former Governor Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat. The affected voters registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated and scattered across the state. Sherrill said fewer than 400 of those newly registered because of the error voted.

“These individuals answered “no” when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” Sherrill said. She said she was “appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time.”

The stakes reach beyond New Jersey. Republicans have pressed states to audit voter rolls and tighten citizenship verification. Democrats warn that aggressive purges risk removing eligible voters. A confirmed registration error involving thousands of names hands Trump’s allies a concrete example to cite as they push new documentation requirements.

For the average reader, the case underscores how automated motor vehicle registration systems feed voter rolls in many states, meaning a single coding error can enroll people who never intended to register. Voters flagged by such errors can face challenges or removal from the rolls even when the mistake was not their own.

This has happened before. Disputes over the security and fairness of vote counting have recurred, and in California, Trump alleged without evidence that the state’s slow tabulation left the system rigged, according to kqed.org. Election officials there attributed delays to mail-ballot processing rather than fraud, according to kqed.org.

The next steps rest with New Jersey election officials, who said they are reviewing the affected registrations. A date for the completion of that review or any referral has not been announced.

Claims of a rigged American ballot are as old as the republic itself. In New York City during the 1860s and 1870s, the Tammany Hall machine run by William M. Tweed manufactured thousands of fraudulent votes and naturalized immigrants en masse to swing elections, according to britannica.com. Tweed’s ring stole tens of millions of dollars before prosecutors convicted him in 1873. He died in a jail cell in 1878, a reminder that charges of a crooked system have long outlasted the men who raised them.