WASHINGTON — House Republicans cited New Jersey’s recent voting registration glitch in passing a new resolution calling for approval of legislation that would impose new voting restrictions on American citizens.
The provision endorsing the SAVE America Act, which would impose new requirements on Americans registering and voting, was included in a resolution that also condemned socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America, which has helped oust more moderate candidates in some party primaries this year.
The vote was 220-192, with all three New Jersey Republicans voting yes and all nine Democrats voting no, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), who has been critical of the DSA. House Republicans previously voted to condemn socialism and voted for the SAVE America Act four other times.
The resolution singled out the Garden State, which in July acknowledged that a software error led to around 6,600 noncitizens being registered to vote, with fewer than 400 of them voting in 2024. But none of the speakers mentioned the glitch during floor debate.
“It’s more than a New Jersey issue. Something went very wrong in New Jersey and we still don’t know the depth and the breadth of it,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) said before the vote.
“You have to wonder what’s going on in California, what’s going on in Minnesota, what’s going on in New York and some other states as well, so I think the New Jersey lesson is that we do need the SAVE Act and emphasizes that if we want to vote in an American election, you must be an American.
Instead, most Republicans talked about the evils of socialism while Democrats talked about the provisions of the SAVE America Act, which studies show could lead to millions of American citizens being denied the right to vote because they can’t get their hands on the required documents.
Immediately after the vote, the House Republicans’ campaign arm blasted the Democrats for voting against condemning socialism.
“House Democrats are so beholden to their socialist leaders that they’ll rubber-stamp every far-left radical policy the second they get the chance,’ said Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) fired back against the GOP, saying he would not support what he called the “top legislative priority of far-right extremists” and the “latest MAGA effort to rig the midterm elections.”
“House Republicans continue to desperately push toxic voter suppression legislation instead of working to make life more affordable for everyday Americans in the midst of a searing cost-of-living crisis,” he said.
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) said the Republicans were just trying to change the subject in a midterm election that traditionally serves as a referendum on the president.
“Drowning people will always grab anybody on the surface who can help them, and that’s what’s going on here,” Norcross said. “Obviously New Jersey had a problem. For disclosure, transparency is going on. We’re finding out 0.00001% is what we’re talking about. Nobody’s defending a mistake, but it’s a mistake. It’s being addressed. And that’s it.”
And Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) denounced what she called a “performative cowtowing to Donald Trump.”
“Instead of spending time focused on affordability, instead of spending time stopping this wasteful spending on this illegal war, instead of ensuring that our food products are fit to eat, we are spending time denouncing something,” she said. “And what’s more shocking is that we’re not even trafficking in the correct definition, because there is a huge difference between democratic socialism and socialism.”
But Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) said the voting glitch in New Jersey deserved a congressional response.
“Voting improprieties and other unethical types of things really concern me deeply,” he said. “I believe that the right to vote is sacrosanct. It needs to be protected.”
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