Assemblyman Paul Kanitra is calling for a federal investigation into New Jersey’s motor vehicle and voter registration systems, contending that state officials cannot be trusted to determine the extent to which noncitizens were improperly registered to vote.
Kanitra (R-Point Pleasant Beach), a potential Republican candidate for governor in 2029, asked the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and House Judiciary Committee to investigate after six months of research by his legislative office.
The demand follows the Sherrill administration’s disclosure that a Motor Vehicle Commission software problem transmitted roughly 6,600 records of people who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens to the state’s voter registration system. Nearly 400 of them voted in 2024.
“Trenton has shown us it either can’t or won’t get to the bottom of this,” Kanitra said. “If the state’s own system failed to screen out 6,600 noncitizen voter registrations, taxpayers have every reason to ask how many more are sitting on the rolls right now.”
Kanitra also wants federal officials to obtain MVC records and review the approximately 75,000 people excused from jury duty each year after identifying themselves as noncitizens to determine whether any appear on the voter rolls. He has offered his office’s data and testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.
The Ocean County Republican separately released the second edition of a report estimating that illegal immigration costs New Jersey taxpayers $8.2 billion annually, or about $2,300 per household. The report attributes $7.14 billion of that amount to K-12 education, including costs associated with U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.
Kanitra’s calculations and methodology have not been independently verified.
The assemblyman said the findings bolster legislation he has introduced to require hospitals to collect immigration-status data, exclude noncitizens from redistricting population counts and authorize local police departments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“New Jersey taxpayers deserve to know exactly what illegal immigration is costing them every year,” Kanitra said.