Assemblyman Paul Kanitra Calls for Federal Investigation into NJ Voter Rolls & Releases Immigration Cost Report
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Following six months of research, New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-Ocean) is requesting federal intervention to audit the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) and voter registration systems.
Kanitra has formally called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to launch an immediate investigation, asserting state agencies cannot independently manage oversight of voter rolls.
Demands for Federal Oversight & Audit
The push for federal involvement follows state disclosures that an MVC processing issue resulted in roughly 6,600 noncitizens being registered to vote, with nearly 400 voting records identified.
Assemblyman Kanitra has submitted formal requests seeking:
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Federal MVC Records Audit: Reviewing driver’s license issuance procedures and cross-referencing noncitizen records against active voter registration rolls.
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Jury Duty Exemption Cross-Checks: Auditing records of the approximately 75,000 individuals excused annually from jury service due to noncitizen status to verify whether any appear on active voter rolls.
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Congressional Testimony: Offering findings and research data to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee alongside congressional inquiry deadlines set by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew.
Report Outlines Estimated Taxpayer Costs
Alongside his request for federal oversight, Kanitra released the second edition of his office’s research paper, Report on the Cost of Illegal Aliens to New Jerseyans. The report claims that state sanctuary policies contribute to an estimated annual taxpayer burden of $8.2 billion—equating to approximately $1,700 per worker or $2,300 per household.
The report details several key expenditure areas across state programs:
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K-12 Public Education: Estimated at $7.14 billion (nearly 87% of the total calculated cost), accounting for both undocumented students and U.S.-born children of undocumented parents.
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Emergency Medical Care: Cites roughly $72 million spent on emergency hospital services in 2024.
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Legal Defense Programs: Notes an eightfold increase in state-funded legal representation programs for individuals facing deportation since 2018.
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Housing Market Pressures: References national analyses linking population growth and housing demand to broader rent and home-price increases across suburban and metro regions.
Proposed Legislative Initiatives
Kanitra maintains that the report’s findings support several legislative proposals introduced in the State Legislature, including mandates for hospitals to collect immigration status data during intake, excluding noncitizens from legislative redistricting population counts, and granting local law enforcement authority to coordinate directly with federal immigration agencies.
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Tags: #NJPolitics #NewJersey #ElectionIntegrity #VoterRolls #NJAssembly #StateGovernment #OceanCounty
