Sherrill drops head-turning voter ID declaration in wake of registration fiasco: ‘Significant shift’
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill says she would support a voter ID law in the Garden State — even as she slams President Donald Trump’s federal SAVE Act push as "voter suppression."
"Governor Sherrill supports the current rules requiring ID for voter registration and she is open to considering proposals to strengthen those to make sure we have the strongest, fairest elections in the nation," a spokesperson in the governor's office told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Sherrill’s comments hand New Jersey Republicans a new opening to press Democrats on voter ID, even as she rejects Trump’s broader federal election push under the SAVE America Act.
Sherrill's office responded to Fox News Digital on Tuesday after the Garden State Democrat told local media in July she would support a voter ID law if one were passed in New Jersey, saying she "doesn't have a problem with voter ID."
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"I’m very opposed to the SAVE Act," Sherrill added at the time. "I do believe that is just a tool of voter suppression and an attempt to get all of the personal identifying information of New Jerseyans into the federal government systems, which I’m opposed to."
Sherrill served in the House for seven years and voted against the SAVE Act in 2025, with her office describing the measure as an "extreme voter suppression bill."
Sherrill is facing criticism after announcing last month that a Motor Vehicle Commission system error improperly registered roughly 6,600 people who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens. The state said fewer than 400 people newly registered because of the error voted, and later announced that more than 4,500 registrations were being removed while the remaining cases undergo additional review because some of those individuals may be citizens.
New Jersey Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio told Fox News Digital Sherrill's recent comments mark a "significant shift" after years of Republicans in the Garden State advocating for voter ID.
"But agreeing with us publicly is the easy part," DiMaio said, adding that Democratic legislative leaders control what gets a hearing and a vote, and that Republicans have so far heard nothing from them on voter ID.
"We’ve been pushing voter ID and other election integrity reforms for years. The bills are already introduced. We’ve repeatedly called for hearings and votes. The roadblock has been Democratic legislative leadership," the Republican state leader said.
DiMaio said the Motor Vehicle System failure exposed serious weaknesses in New Jersey’s election safeguards and they still have not heard an answer of what went wrong.
Voter-ID requirements have repeatedly become major partisan fights at the state level, with Democrats and voting-rights groups arguing that some requirements can make it harder for eligible voters to cast ballots.
One of the most prominent battles erupted in Georgia in 2021. The state already required photo ID for in-person voting, but a sweeping Republican-backed election law added identification requirements for absentee voting along with other changes. The backlash went national, with MLB moving its 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta and some Hollywood figures threatening boycotts.
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"Governor Sherrill served our country in the military and as a public servant because she believes in every citizen's right to participate in our democracy by voting. That's why she has stood firm against MAGA Republicans' voter suppression attempts and Trump’s demands for New Jersey voters’ personal identifiable information," said a spokesperson in the office of the governor.
"She has already made voting more accessible by signing the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act and expanded early voting in municipal elections," the spokesperson added, referencing the law that bans voter intimidation and discrimination, expanding language assistance, and requiring extra review of election changes in places with a history of discrimination.
Trump has continued to prioritize and highlight the issue of noncitizens on voter rolls as he renewed his push for the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections and photo identification to cast a federal ballot.
"I think they should pass Voter I.D. I think they should pass proof of citizenship—basically SAVE America Act... I think that should be something that we should absolutely get," Trump said in the Oval Office Monday.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.