'Tip of the iceberg': NJ illegal voting scandal explodes with more key systems at risk
The top Republican on New Jersey’s Judiciary Committee says she repeatedly warned state officials that automatic voter registration lacked adequate safeguards but was routinely dismissed, as thousands more noncitizens have now been been found on sensitive systems.
Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Totowa, told Fox News Digital that Gov. Mikie Sherrill's motor voter controversy reinforced Republican demands for a bipartisan investigation with subpoena power, warning the administration's review was too narrowly focused and likely failed to capture the full scope of the problem.
"We didn't just reach out to the Motor Vehicle Commissioner. We reached out to Secretary of State [at the time, Lt. Gov. Taheshia Way]. We were not satisfied with the answers that we got from the motor vehicle commissioner, which I can tell you were basically, ‘we have signs up, they're put on notice… that if you're not a citizen, you can't register to vote’."
"So people were on the honor system. We did not think that was acceptable or satisfactory or enough of a safeguard," she said, adding that the common refrain was of an "honor system."
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Corrado and others, including Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, are now demanding a bipartisan special-investigation with subpoena power.
Asked if they had heard from Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Linden, Corrado said his team indicated they wanted to wait for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s own internal probe to finish.
"I have concerns about that because this independent investigation is very limited in scope. It is limited to what they're calling the motor vehicle ‘glitch’," she said, warning scrutiny should go far beyond the initial area of discovery.
Shortly after Corrado's spoke to Fox News Digital, reports surfaced that roughly 75,000 noncitizens had been summoned for jury duty through state databases, according to multiple reports, broadening the controversy beyond the Motor Vehicle Commission and prompting additional Republican calls for a wider investigation.
Corrado pointed to her repeated requests over the years for clarity on the security of the voting systems and how she was rebuffed as proof the probe needs to be substantial.
Asked about the demand for a full-scale investigation, Scutari credited what the governor is already doing and said he would hold fire until her probe finishes.
"A healthy democracy depends on the security of our voter registration systems and the stewardship of the individuals entrusted with ensuring our elections are free, fair, and accessible. It also depends on public trust, and Governor Sherrill deserves credit for being transparent about these failures… [and] launch[ing] an independent investigation…," Scutari said in-part, confirming Corrado’s comment he would wait for it to finish.
Former Gov. Phil Murphy’s spokesman Mahen Gunaratna also told Fox News last week that his boss had "no knowledge" of the issues at the MVC.
"I find that hard to believe, but it's incredibly troubling that the governor did not know what his cabinet members were doing or what was going on right underneath him," Corrado responded.
"All [this] put our election integrity at risk, all questions that have to be answered. And the only way to answer those questions is through a bipartisan, legislative committee."
State Joint Budget Committee ranking member Declan O’Scanlon agreed the scandal validated GOP concerns.
"The fact is that the people in charge for so long said this absolutely was impossible; Republicans were ‘conspiracy theorists’," said O’Scanlon, R-Little Silver.
"There are some folks on the extreme on both sides, but those of us in the middle who have said there are real issues here and they were ignored, and we were accused of being conspiracy theorists, only to find out that we were absolutely right; again."
O’Scanlon said he believed the motor-voter revelations were the "tip of the iceberg," and was hours later proven true, as reports surfaced about the 75,000 noncitizens summoned for jury duty.
"This has the potential to be a real scandal," he warned, agreeing that subpoena-powered hearings are a must.
"We need to get on this quickly because we have elections coming up that are critical, that could be slim margins. And also you want the people of New Jersey to believe in the integrity of their voter rolls and their elections," he said.
"We shouldn't dig this hole any deeper."
Fox News Digital reached out to NJCourts and to Sherrill's office for comment.
Peter McAleer, a spokesman for the state court system, told Fox News Digital the jury system pulls from the MVC as well as taxation and elections department lists, with the taxation department legally being permitted to have noncitizens on its own rolls.
"Prospective jurors are asked about their citizenship and other qualifications when they complete the mandatory juror qualification questionnaire. Prospective jurors must certify that they understand that if they submit a knowingly false answer, they can be subject to punishment for contempt of court," he said. "Approximately 75,000 individuals per year are disqualified from juror service based solely on lack of United States citizenship."
Corrado and Bucco also dropped a bill to eliminate motor-voter and implement voter-ID and regular audits of election data systems.
"New Jerseyans need more than just excuses and finger pointing, they deserve action, and there are commonsense steps we can take right now," said Bucco, R-Morristown.
"Get the MVC out of the voter registration business."
State Sen. Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton, who recently requested additional scrutiny from Attorney General Todd Blanche himself, told Fox News Digital on Saturday the 75,000 figure is a red-flag that Trenton can’t police itself.
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"The disclosure that 75,000 noncitizens were summoned as potential members of juries screams for a thorough federal investigation," Pennacchio said in a Monday statement.
"The governor has blamed [French software firm] IDEMIA, the Murphy administration and of course President Donald Trump for their ever-increasing numbers," he said, calling Sherrill’s investigatory effort a "whitewash."
"As the scope of this problem grows daily and with the refusal of the Democratic Legislature to investigate, it is obvious the U.S. Attorney General's office must take charge," he said.