Pennacchio presses Sherrill administration for noncitizen voting records after Caldwell exit

State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville) is renewing demands that the Sherrill administration release records showing where self-identified noncitizens voted in New Jersey, saying Dale Caldwell’s resignation as lieutenant governor and secretary of state does not end questions surrounding the state’s voter registration controversy.

The state disclosed in July that roughly 6,600 people who identified themselves as noncitizens were improperly registered through the Motor Vehicle Commission, with hundreds later casting ballots.

Pennacchio has filed two Open Public Records Act requests seeking records identifying which elections those voters participated in and where they voted. The administration has not yet produced the requested records; the Secretary of State’s office previously sought additional time to respond.

“Dale Caldwell’s resignation does not absolve the administration of its responsibility to provide answers about the noncitizen voting scandal,” Pennacchio said.  “The person holding the office of Secretary of State may have changed, but the records and questions surrounding this scandal remain.”

Pennacchio is also calling for a legislative hearing where Caldwell could be questioned about his role as secretary of state while the registration problem was identified and investigated, including what records were available to his office.

“With less than two months until a critically important election, New Jersey voters cannot afford unanswered questions about the integrity of its voter rolls,” Pennacchio said.

Pennacchio has been seeking the records since July and submitted a narrower request in August seeking information about where the affected voters cast ballots without requesting their names or other private information.