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Election

New Jersey– By Dr. Patricia Campos-Medina

The MAGA zealots trying to destroy American citizens’ faith in our election process are playing the long game—let’s not fall for their hateful tactics of attacking immigrants for everything.

As a naturalized citizen, I know how serious new immigrants take the right to vote. My parents, siblings and I went through the process; six years as a permanent resident, making sure we paid our taxes and followed the law, passing a written exam to test our knowledge of American history, and an in-person interview to test our English proficiency. Because I was already in college, I aced my citizenship test, but it took my parents two extra years of taking citizenship and English classes to be ready for their exam.

So, when they finally got their citizenship papers and their voting registration card, they were humbled and honored to be able to vote in their adopted country.  Still, my brothers and I had to explain to them the voting process and take them to the polls—a tradition I still hold today because as a family, we take voting seriously. It is a privilege earned through decades of compliance to American law and the immigration process—unlike the image painted by MAGA, immigrants going through an immigration process are careful to abide by the law. 

The tragedy of the software voting error at NJ’s Motor Vehicle System that improperly registered roughly 6,600 individuals who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens is the damage that it may cause to those immigrant families, who through no fault of their own, are now caught in a MAGA political long game set on destroying our faith in our election process.

It is also important to understand how this happened. These individuals did not lie or cheat. When asked at the MVC whether they were U.S. citizens, they answered no. The system registered them anyway, through no fault of their own. They were victims of a government software failure, one that originated under the previous administration and that Governor Sherrill inherited, disclosed, and began correcting the moment she learned of it.

I applaud Governor Sherrill for the responsibility she took to address this mistake by the previous administration and the way she has handled it. In government, like anything else, mistakes happen. What separates leaders from politicians is not whether errors occur; it is how they respond with transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law.

I also applaud her for refusing to let the Trump Administration vilify those individuals impacted by this error—her refusal to turn over the private, personal data of those impacted could invite political scrutiny but at this moment in time when MAGA forces attack our immigrant communities with hate, this is her moment of political courage.

Taking responsibility and leading is also recognizing that those impacted should not be victims of a crusade by hateful forces to destroy faith in our elections.

And the truth is, there is nothing to hide. Let’s look at what the numbers tell us, because context matters.

New Jersey has approximately 6.7 million registered voters. Those 6,600 improperly registered individuals represent less than 0.01 percent of the total. Of those 6,600 registered voters, only 400 voted, which accounts for less than 0.009 per cent of the 4.3 million ballots cast in New Jersey in 2024.

As a community leader and an immigrant, I know what it means when voting rights become a political weapon. I have seen communities like mine targeted by the false narrative that noncitizen voting is so rampant that it justifies sweeping restrictions on who can participate in our democracy.

President Trump and his allies have used the specter of widespread voter fraud to justify federal overreach into state election systems and to push policies that disproportionately burden communities of color, elderly voters, poor and working families.

This incident does not support that agenda. It exposes it.

Governor Sherrill faced this error head-on. She is holding those responsible accountable and doing so with full transparency. An independent investigation will reveal the facts and will heed informed recommendations to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

By taking immediate action to remove all known authorized voters from registration rolls, the Governor is demonstrating good governance; it is the standard every leader should be held to, and it is one worth defending.

Patricia Campos-Medina is a labor, political leader and an scholar expert on immigration and voting rights. You can follow her on social media @DrCamposMedina