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Bombshell voting scandal adds to pattern of noncitizen voters as Trump warns of threat to ‘heart’ of democracy
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New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s recent announcement of 6,600 ineligible voters found on the state’s rolls is only the latest in a decades-long string of cases involving noncitizens registered to vote in U.S. elections, records show.
Sherrill said that the ineligible voters were registered due to a «serious software error» in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System. Her announcement came within a week of a major address from President Donald Trump in which he warned that digital election interference posed a «cyber threat aimed at the very heart of our democracy.»
While New Jersey is the latest documented failure, it is not an isolated anomaly. New Jersey’s error adds to a 25-year record of state reviews, software failures and prosecutions that found noncitizens on voter rolls and, in some documented cases, casting ballots. Experts say the episodes establish a recurring vulnerability. However, due to the lack of a national standard for identifying and reporting errors, reviews are sporadic and use different methods, making it impossible to determine how widespread the problem truly is.
«It’s a major vulnerability,» Jason Snead, executive director of the conservative think tank the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital. «And we have seen just within the last couple of years many states that have checked their voter rolls and found non-citizens on them … So, this is a big problem.»
NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION
Mikie Sherrill, governor of New Jersey, speaks in the Assembly Chamber of the New Jersey State House in Trenton, New Jersey, US, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to New Jersey’s preliminary findings, fewer than 400 individuals who were improperly registered ended up voting. Sherrill said they lived all across the state and mostly lacked a party affiliation, though there were some registered as Democrats or Republicans.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Secretary of State Division of Elections, state Attorney General Dale Caldwell and the chairs of several key legislative elections oversight committees for clarification on which elections the 400 ineligible voters participated in and to request details on the state’s auditing protocols. Fox News Digital did not receive a response from any of the state officials mentioned above.
Snead explained that though states are required by law to ensure their voter rolls are up to date and accurate, there is no uniform federal requirement for a state to disclose its findings. He said that this has led to differences across states in how the law is enforced and how errors are reported.
«There are federal requirements to maintain clean and accurate voter rolls. And of course, it is a federal crime for a noncitizen to register and to vote, but there’s no requirement that a state report how many non-citizens that they have found up to the federal government. That’s entirely a state law question,» he explained.
He argued that problems involving noncitizen voting are greater in blue states due to policies he said make it easier to cheat.
LEAVITT RIPS BLUE STATE’S EXPLOSIVE NONCITIZEN VOTER-ROLL ADMISSION: ‘NOT A COINCIDENCE’
«When you look at the policies that are pushed in blue states by the left, things like automatic voter registration, giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens, banning voter identification laws, no proof of citizenship to vote on and on and, this is the inevitable outcome of all of those policies,» said Snead, adding, «This is not the first time that we’ve seen a state with automatic voter registration add potential non-citizens to the rolls.»
After the president’s speech, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin released a statement announcing that preliminary DHS reviews of state records found «as many as» 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states: 35,152 in New Jersey, 190,832 in California, 15,903 in Nevada and 14,576 in Pennsylvania.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for clarification on its preliminary findings. However, DHS did not answer Fox News Digital’s questions and instead sent a statement from Mullin reiterating the number.
In the statement, Mullin emphasized to Fox News Digital that «this shouldn’t be a red or blue state issue: ONLY Americans should elect American leaders.» He added that «we’ve put these governors on notice. States must work with us to ensure free, fair, and honest elections.»
Charles Stewart III, a professor of political science specializing in elections at MIT, explained that the controlling federal law governing voter registration, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), is «silent on the issue of noncitizens on the roll.»
He told Fox News Digital that because «this was not an issue in the early 1990s … one of the ambiguities right now and controversies is over precisely what sort of obligations states have to audit their rolls for noncitizens.»
«This is really at the crux of the matter and two of President Trump’s executive orders. It’s the crux of the matter in the Save America Act. It is the crux to the matter in the current efforts, well, back to the executive orders and a lot of the lawsuits. And the states are pointing out, when being pressed by the federal government, that yes, it is illegal for noncitizens to vote, for sure, and states should have an obligation to make sure noncitizens are not registering, but there is no federal law that compels states to do investigations, nor is there a federal law to compel them to report.
Meanwhile, states that have published review results have reported concerning findings. Besides New Jersey, state reviews conducted since 2020 have found evidence of significant numbers of noncitizens registered to vote in Louisiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, a Fox News Digital review found.
Earlier this year, Louisiana Secretary of State said that using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which was rolled out by the Trump administration last year, the state identified 403 noncitizens on its voter rolls, 83 of whom had voted in elections, American Press reported.
In 2025, an audit by the Iowa secretary of state confirmed that 277 noncitizens were registered to vote and that 35 successfully voted in the 2024 election while five attempted to vote but were rejected.
TRUMP RELEASES DECLASSIFIED ELECTION INTELLIGENCE, SAYS IT REVEALS ‘SHOCKING VULNERABILITIES’
The same year, the Michigan Department of State published its findings from a review of the 2024 election, which it said proved that «credible cases of noncitizens casting a ballot in Michigan elections are extremely rare.» The review found that 15 people, who it said «appear to be non-U.S. citizens,» cast a ballot in the election. Additionally, the department identified a Chinese national who allegedly voted illegally.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office announced in 2024 and 2021 that it had identified 597 and 117 apparent noncitizen voter registrations, respectively, and referred the cases for further investigation.
According to findings cited in Illinois legislation and testimony by secretary of state officials before the general assembly, a programming error in the state’s automatic voter registration system allowed the records of 574 people who identified themselves as noncitizens to be transmitted to election officials between 2018 and 2019.
Further, officials in Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina have also reported cases of noncitizens being registered to vote as far back as 2000.
In testimony given to the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee in 2017, then elections commissioner Jonathan Marks revealed that the state had found 1,160 records of apparent noncitizens who self-reported and canceled. Marks said that a deeper analysis of the years 2000 through 2017 found 544 ballots were cast by the identified registrants.
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In Texas, authorities discovered a resident alien named Rosa Ortega registered in 2002 and voted five times from 2004 through 2014, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In another case, a Ghanaian national named Michael Nana Baako registered to vote in Maryland, swearing that he was a U.S. citizen in 2005 and subsequently voted in 10 federal elections between 2006 and 2018, according to the DOJ.
A 2012 report by the Colorado Department of State revealed that the state identified 3,903 registered voters whose citizenship status was «in question.» An additional 430 Colorado voters were found to have identified themselves as ineligible to vote because of citizenship requirements.
The report noted that in Colorado «no proof is required to validate the status indicated on a registration form.» It said that individuals can register to vote at a driver’s license office, state public assistance office, county office, private voter registration drive, or even online, none of which verify citizenship.
Three reviews conducted by the Florida Department of State for the years between 2013 and 2017 identified 821 noncitizen registrations and 126 people with voting histories.
Meanwhile, a 2017 state audit in North Carolina concluded that 41 legal-status noncitizens cast ballots.
NJ REPUBLICAN SAYS MOTOR VOTER SCANDAL VINDICATES YEARS OF ELECTION INTEGRITY WARNINGS, PUSHES FOR LEGISLATIVE PROBE
(Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Justice Department to ask how many individuals the agency has charged with noncitizen voting or unlawful voter registration since 2000. However, a spokesperson for the DOJ did not offer specifics. Instead, the spokesperson sent Fox News Digital a statement assuring that the department’s Civil Rights Division «is investigating and will keep pressing states to clean their rolls» and is «prosecuting cases where the law and evidence support it.»
The DOJ spokesperson reiterated that «it is illegal for any noncitizen to vote in a federal election» and that «every unlawful vote dilutes the voice of American citizens.»
«Whether or not a case is prosecutable doesn’t change the fact that the wrongful vote happened — DHS found over 250,000 likely noncitizens on voter rolls nationwide, and New Jersey’s own Governor confirmed 400 noncitizens voted there,» the spokesperson said.
«The fact of the matter is that election after election after election after election happened and no one did anything about it,» remarked Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal.
He pointed to a letter sent by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to election officials in all 50 states which he said, «reminded them of their obligations and the possibility of legal consequences for not taking action.»
Since President Donald Trump’s return to office, the Civil Rights Division has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to compel the production of full voter registration lists under the NVRA, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
«There are ways to fix it,» said Hamilton. «It’s just a matter of desire.»
voter fraud concerns, voting, new jersey, elections, donald trump, politics
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For months, President Donald Trump has fixated on one legislative priority. Now, its repeated failure may be costing Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the president’s support.
Trump has badgered Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, his missing legislative crown jewel, turning support for the bill into a loyalty test.
Thune has become the target for those irritated that the bill hasn’t moved in the Senate. For months, Trump largely spared him from criticism over the bill’s stalled progress. That appears to have changed.
The hairline fractures in their relationship stem from Thune doing what few Republicans are willing to do: tell Trump no.
GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP’S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN
Congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump and the GOP base want voter ID turned into law, but one barrier stands in the way: the political reality of the Senate. (Leon Neal/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«Well, that’s too bad for him,» Trump said when asked about Thune not having the votes to move the SAVE America Act. «I mean, that’s too bad for him and too bad for the Republican Party.»
«He’s got the votes,» he continued. «He should get it done. He should be able to get it done.»
And, though he’s backed him before, Trump appeared to waver in his support of Thune when asked if he was the right man for the job.
«Well, we’re going to find out, and I’ll let you know,» Trump said.
TRUMP THREATENS TO YANK HIS OWN AG NOMINEE AS GOP REVOLT GROWS
On his way to and from the Senate floor, Thune was pressed on Trump’s comments. When asked about Trump wavering on him as the leader of the Senate GOP, Thune signaled it wasn’t up to him.
«I don’t know what you say on that,» he said. «That’s a decision made by my colleagues.»
He also pushed back on the president’s assertion that Republicans could pass the SAVE America Act.
«That must be a different form of math,» Thune said.
Thune has repeatedly argued Republicans simply don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act, a position that has increasingly put him at odds with Trump. A bloc of Republicans has never supported the legislation, while Senate Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it, leaving Thune without the votes.
TRUMP DEMANDS THUNE KEEP SENATE IN SESSION UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he hopes the next Senate shows more independence from President Donald Trump while crediting Senate Majority Leader John Thune with steering Republicans through a difficult political landscape. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
«I think it’s wrong to blame Thune for this — Senator Thune,» Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. «This is not his fault.»
Still, Thune has moved major legislation backed by the president and has the Senate on a record pace for nominee confirmations, all while dealing with vulnerable Republicans taking tough political votes and Democrats who are bound to kneecap Trump’s agenda at every turn.
«I hope that the next Congress, the people with the election certificates as U.S. senators who actually make that decision, show some independence and courage,» Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. «And recognize that Thune has helped navigate an almost impossible scenario to navigate with this president.»
The legislation has been tested several times in a variety of forms, and has never gotten the needed votes to pass. And Thune has said the votes aren’t there to nuke the filibuster, which Trump has pushed for throughout his second term.
Even as Trump publicly questions Thune, the Senate GOP leader intends to seek another term as the top Republican.
Leadership is elected internally by Senate Republicans, not by the president. Thune came out of a crowded field to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., battling Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to get the top spot in the Senate GOP.
And his colleagues, so far, have his back.
Scott, who ran against Thune, told Fox News Digital that he had no intention of running for the top gig in the Senate again. He also noted that even though he wanted it, it’s a difficult profession to take on.
«John’s a smart guy,» Scott said. «He is working really hard. So I think he shouldn’t — you know, it’s tough to be the leader.»
«We’ve got a lot of issues we haven’t addressed, so it’s hard,» he continued. «I assumed it was gonna be hard.»
politics, donald trump, john thune, senate elections, republicans elections
INTERNACIONAL
Crisis en Ceuta: Finlandia apoya a Italia para suspender a España del espacio Schengen por la avalancha migratoria desde Marruecos
Finlandia respaldó este viernes la propuesta italiana de suspender a España del espacio europeo Schengen de libre circulación de personas tras la entrada ilegal de decenas de miles de migrantes al enclave español de Ceuta procedentes de Marruecos.
«Los países que no cumplen con su obligación de proteger la frontera exterior no pueden ser miembros de Schengen», escribió la ministra finlandesa de Interior, Mari Rantanen.
En este sentido, el gobierno de Pedro Sánchez está de vuelta en la mira de un grupo de mandatarios de derecha, tras la masiva entrada de migrantes marroquíes al enclave español de Ceuta (África). La primera ministra de Italia, Giorgia Meloni, confirmó que estudian la suspensión del espacio Schengen entre Italia y España que garantiza la libre circulación entre los países que firmaron el tratado.
«Las imágenes que llegan desde Ceuta son impresionantes y demuestran, una vez más, que la inmigración clandestina fuera de control representa una amenaza concreta para la seguridad de las fronteras europeas», escribió en X la líder italiana.
Este jueves miles de migrantes han accedido a la ciudad autónoma española desde Marruecos cruzando a pie por el espigón fronterizo sur del Tarajal, una situación que se ha repetido horas después con otros miles accediendo de forma irregular a la ciudad.
«Italia no se quedará de brazos cruzados. Estamos convocando a los organismos competentes, y al término de estas reuniones estamos preparados para intervenir también con instrumentos extraordinarios para defender las fronteras y la seguridad de los ciudadanos, como la suspensión del espacio Schengen con España«, señaló la mandataria, que previamente se había reunido con el ministro de Interior, Matteo Piantedosi.
«Sobre la inmigración clandestina no retrocederemos ni un milímetro: defender las fronteras, detener a los traficantes de seres humanos y garantizar repatriaciones efectivas seguirá siendo la línea de este Gobierno», cerró Meloni.
Le immagini che arrivano da Ceuta sono impressionanti e dimostrano, ancora una volta, che l’immigrazione clandestina fuori controllo rappresenta una minaccia concreta per la sicurezza dei confini europei.
Mi sono confrontata con il Ministro dell’Interno Matteo Piantedosi.…
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) July 30, 2026
El gobierno español reaccionó al pedido de Meloni. Consideró que se trata de una medida demagógica y convocó al embajador italiano.
El ministro italiano de Relaciones Exteriores, Antonio Tajani, también se mostró a favor del cierre del espacio Schengen con España: «La inmigración irregular e incontrolada representa un peligro para la seguridad nacional«, señaló el ministro en X.
«Las imágenes que llegan desde Ceuta demuestran cómo la decisión del Gobierno de Madrid de otorgar la ciudadanía española, por tanto europea, a más de 500.000 inmigrantes irregulares es profundamente errónea e incentiva el tráfico de seres humanos», agregó.
Por su parte, la Casa Blanca atribuyó este jueves a las «políticas globalistas de extrema izquierda» de España la situación en Ceuta. «El presidente Trump lleva tiempo advirtiendo a Europa de las consecuencias de seguir implementando políticas globalistas de extrema izquierda, como facilitar la migración masiva. España y otros países que han adoptado esta filosofía destructiva deberían rectificar de inmediato o se arriesgan a su propia desaparición«, portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Ana Kelly, a EFE.
En las últimas horas el Gobierno informó de que las Fuerzas Armadas reforzarán a la Guarda Civil para mantener la seguridad en la ciudad de Ceuta.
El presidente del Gobierno español viajará este viernes a Ceuta para conocer sobre el terreno la situación. El mandatario español afirmó este jueves que el Ejecutivo está volcado en dar una respuesta inmediata a la situación y preparaba todas las medidas necesarias para recuperar la normalidad lo antes posible.
Sánchez también indicó que España y Marruecos acordaron reforzar la coordinación y los esfuerzos para hacer frente a la crisis migratoria y se comprometieron a revisar e implementar medidas para la entrega, lo antes posible, de todas las personas que entraron de forma irregular.
La Guardia Civil recuperó este jueves los cadáveres de once personas que habrían intentado entrar a nado en Ceuta y Salvamento Marítimo otro más.
Las autoridades marroquíes han comenzado a usar material antidisturbios, gases lacrimógenos y cañones de agua, para dispersar a la multitud congregada en los alrededores de la frontera con Ceuta. Miles de personas siguen llegando durante todo el día a la localidad de Castillejos con la intención de cruzar a la ciudad española, una marea humana de más de cinco kilómetros que ha terminado por desbordar a la policía marroquí.
INTERNACIONAL
Habló el guardavidas de 16 años que salvó a un nene en California: “Se iba a ahogar y no iba a dejar que eso pasara”
El sábado, en la playa Seabright State Beach de Santa Cruz, Ryder Williams, un guardavidas de apenas 16 años, se convirtió en protagonista de una historia que recorrió todo Estados Unidos. En medio de un mar agitado y con la costa repleta de gente, el adolescente rescató a Nathaniel Rai, un nene de 10 años que había sido arrastrado por las olas.
Williams, que está en su primer año como guardavidas de California State Parks, contó que vio cómo el chico perdió el equilibrio en la orilla y fue arrastrado hacia aguas profundas por la fuerza del mar.
Sin dudarlo, avisó por radio, dejó sus cosas en la base de la torre y corrió hacia el agua con sus aletas y el flotador. Ryder Williams salvó a Nathaniel Rai, de 10 años, en medio de un fuerte oleaje (Foto: Instagram/@Santacruznow).
“No iba a soltar a ese chico”, le contó después a su papá, Shane Williams, un bombero retirado. “Se iba a ahogar y no iba a dejar que eso pasara”, agregó el joven, que no dudó en lanzarse al mar pese a las condiciones peligrosas.
El dramático rescate en medio de olas gigantes
Williams explicó que, debido a la violencia del agua, no pudo colocarle el tubo de rescate al nene, que llegó a quedarse inmóvil mientras las olas los golpeaban una y otra vez.
“Después de la primera ola, no pude sacarlo porque estaba flácido y las olas empujaban con mucha fuerza”, señaló en un comunicado.
El Servicio de Parques de California, que emplea a los salvavidas en esa playa, indicó que el niño fue arrastrado unos 13,7 metros mar adentro antes de que el Ryder lograra alcanzarlo
Ryder Williams con su papá, Shane, un exbombero. (Foto: gentileza The New York Post).
En el video que grabaron testigos. se ve a Williams zambullirse en una ola que venía mientras se aferra con fuerza al niño.
Otro salvavidas, Aaron Bohnen, se lanzó para ayudar, junto con algunos bañistas, a quienes Williams pidió que volvieran a la orilla para no poner más vidas en riesgo.
Williams y Bohnen consiguieron sacar a Nathaniel del agua y llevarlo a la playa, donde Williams buscó el equipo médico para asistir al chico.
Reconocimiento nacional y una invitación especial
El rescate no solo evitó una tragedia, sino que también le valió a Ryder Williams el reconocimiento a nivel nacional. El propio presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunció que planea invitarlo a la Casa Blanca para entregarle una distinción civil por su valentía. Trump anunció que condecorará a Ryder Williams por su valentía. (Foto: captura de X).
Las autoridades destacaron que Williams estuvo asignado a la Torre 2 durante toda la jornada, haciendo controles de seguridad por la gran cantidad de gente y el mar peligroso.
Tras el rescate, el joven volvió a su puesto y terminó su turno como cualquier otro día.
“Estoy agradecido de haber podido devolver al chico a su familia sano y salvo. Este es mi trabajo y amo lo que hago”, expresó Williams en su primer comunicado tras el hecho.
“Estoy agradecido con mis compañeros salvavidas, que realizan rescates como este todos los días”, agregó.
El niño no sufrió lesiones graves y, tras una evaluación médica, se fue con su familia.
El dramático testimonio del padre del nene que fue rescatado
Sumit Rai, el papá del nene, le expresó su gratitud a Ryder en declaraciones a la agencia de noticias AP. “Lo que hizo, nunca jamás podré pagarlo”, afirmó. “Le estaré agradecido para siempre”, manifestó.
El hombre alabó el coraje del adolescente. “Se metió en ese agua pese a esas condiciones mortales. Había olas de 3 metros; hay resacas y corrientes que entran”, dijo Rai “Es peligroso meterse allí, así que estaba arriesgando su propia seguridad”, añadió sobre Ryder.
El hombre, que estaba en Dallas, se enteró de lo que había pasado al hablar por teléfono con su hijo horas después del rescate. “Mi hijo me dijo que se ahogó y que perdió el conocimiento”, comentó.
Y agregó: “Estaba muy apagado, todavía en estado de shock”.
Además, el nene le contó que le entró arena en los pulmones y que la estuvo expulsando al toser después de llegar a la orilla. Según dijo, el nene tuvo pesadillas tras el duro momento: “Fue traumático”
Estados Unidos, guardavidas
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