DOJ launches investigation into New Jersey non-citizen voting
Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn reports on the Department of Justice launching an investigation into New Jersey voter roll software errors that registered 6,600 non-citizens to vote. Gov. Mikie Sherrill acknowledged that as many as 400 registered non-citizens cast ballots in state elections under former Gov. Phil Murphy. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin warned that up to 35,000 non-citizens may remain registered on New Jersey voter rolls.
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Federal law enforcement arrested a Senegalese immigrant in New Jersey accused of illegally voting in multiple elections, injecting a new flashpoint into Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s escalating fights with Washington over immigration enforcement and election integrity.
The case comes as Washington and Trenton battle over immigration enforcement and election administration, with the Trump administration challenging Sherrill over state policies affecting federal law enforcement while also pressing New Jersey for access to its voter rolls.
Sanata Coulibaly, a Senegalese national, was arrested when DHS and FBI agents jointly executed a criminal warrant in Hudson County, which stretches from West New York to Bayonne across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
FOUR NONCITIZENS CHARGED WITH ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2020, 2022 AND 2024 FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN NEW JERSEY
“This alien from Senegal has been charged with procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully and voting by an alien after allegedly voting in three general elections in New Jersey,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.
“Sanctuary politicians can try to claim that this kind of voter fraud isn’t happening, but it’s very real and is a serious threat to our country.”
WATCH: TRUMP DOJ VOWS TO PURSUE ‘EVERY SINGLE’ VOTING VIOLATION AFTER NJ ROLL SHOCKER
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed Executive Order 12 restricting certain immigration enforcement activities on state property shortly after taking office in January. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
Mullin said DHS and the Trump administration would continue efforts to protect election integrity.
The arrest comes after Sherrill revealed in July that a software error in New Jersey’s motor vehicle system had improperly registered roughly 6,600 people who identified themselves as noncitizens. The state later determined that fewer than 400 of those newly registered because of the error had voted.
After that revelation, New Jersey resisted federal demands to turn over voter rolls while pursuing its own investigation.
Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill for comment.
According to the criminal complaint, Coulibaly cast ballots in the November 2018 midterm election, the July 2020 primary, the November 2020 general election and the 2024 general election while she was not a U.S. citizen.
Coulibaly registered through a paper application submitted to the Hudson County superintendent of elections in Jersey City, falsely certifying that she was a U.S. citizen, the complaint said.
She first came to the U.S. from Senegal on a B-1 nonimmigrant visa in approximately 1993 and later became a lawful permanent resident, according to the Justice Department.
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A DHS agent, left, participates in the arrest of Sanata Coulibaly, right. (DHS Handout)
Prosecutors allege Coulibaly later applied for U.S. citizenship and falsely stated on her N-400 naturalization application that she had never registered to vote or voted in a federal election.
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Coulibaly’s case is part of a broader federal election-integrity push, with the Justice Department announcing election-related charges against 16 people across several states this month.