‘Raw material for election fraud’: Expert flags voter-roll problems far beyond one state

A growing number of states facing noncitizen and illegal voting allegations and disputes over voter registration policies is intensifying a national fight over election safeguards ahead of the midterms.

The disputes exposed a broader fight over how states verify citizenship when registering voters — maximum access versus maximum verification — and how far the federal government can go in demanding state voter data when suspecting illegal activity.

The issue recently exploded after New Jersey Gov.

Mikie Sherrill disclosed 6,600 noncitizens had been registered to vote through Trenton’s Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC).

"This isn't just a New Jersey problem.

This is a national problem," Texas Public Policy Foundation Chief National Initiatives officer Chuck DeVore told Fox News Digital in an interview.

DeVore wrote after Sherrill’s disclosure about the problems that can arise if noncitizen and illegal voting continue relatively unchecked.

"Historically, inappropriately pumping up the vote has been a path to gaining power," DeVore said, adding that a plurality of Americans "are concerned" about noncitizen voting.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS DOJ ACCESS TO NJ VOTER ROLLS AMID STATEWIDE CONTROVERSY President Bill Clinton signed the National Voter Registration Act in 1993.

Commonly called the "Motor Voter Law," the law requires covered states to offer voter registration through motor vehicle agencies while administering their own voter rolls, DeVore said.

"The intention … was to make it really easy to register to vote, especially when you touched a very common part of government," DeVore said, "which was the Department of Motor Vehicles or whatever the equivalent is." DeVore argued that architects of the voter registration system failed to account for the narrower mission of motor vehicle agencies, which he said historically focused on two things: "You who you say you are — and can you safely operate [automotive] machinery." Neither function has anything to do with election security, DeVore said.

"And then if you add an additional layer on top of it, which is if the people in charge want as many people registered as possible because it creates the raw material for election fraud, well, now you have a whole other set of problems that kind of supercharges the weakness." That broader fight has increasingly pitted the Justice Department against states including New Jersey and Pennsylvania over federal demands for voter registration data .

Both states’ election agencies — led by a Democrat and a Republican, respectively — resisted the demands, raising privacy and legal objections to releasing unredacted sensitive information.