SAN DIEGO — Thanks a lot, New Jersey.

Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill recently announced that the Garden State accidentally registered about 6,600 non-citizens to vote. According to Sherrill, fewer than 400 of those people have, in various elections since 2023, actually cast ballots.

That's a grain of sand on the Jersey shore. The state has nearly 7 million registered voters, and statewide elections typically draw as many as 4 million votes.

Still, I can feel the huevos rancheros on my face. I've spent nearly three decades arguing that voter fraud is not happening — and especially not at the hands of non-citizens, including undocumented immigrants.

It's obvious that Republicans cynically use the undocumented voter fraud legend to stir up their base, vilify foreigners and provide a built-in excuse for why they lose elections without having to take responsibility.

Now, it turns out, the issue is not so cut-and-dried. The practice is still rare, but apparently it does happen.

But even Sherrill's mea culpa is complicated.

First, while conservatives paint a sinister picture of undocumented immigrants who conspire to sway elections toward Democrats, there is another possible culprit: technology. Glitchy software that automatically registers people to vote when they obtain a driver's license might work a little too well and register non-citizens who can't vote.

In New Jersey, Sherrill blamed the error on a software mishap by its Motor Vehicles Commission.

Second, we don't know how those people actually voted. Republicans assume that those votes didn't go to them. But President Donald Trump insists that all types of voters love him and points to his inroads with immigrant groups, including Latinos.

And third, look at the wording. The story says that fewer than 400 non-citizens voted. Non-citizens are not necessarily undocumented immigrants. A non-citizen could be a legal permanent resident with a green card who is authorized to be in the United States, even if he or she is not eligible to vote.

Granted, such distinctions don't matter to an outlaw administration that has no qualms about turning legal immigrants into illegal ones so it can deport them.

Because New Jersey is a blue state, the Justice Department is treating it as guilty until proven innocent. The federal lawyers gave state officials five days to turn over all of its voter registration data.

For Trump, election data is manna from heaven. He wants to get his hands on as much sensitive voting material as possible to find ways to — if I may borrow a word — "rig" the midterm elections.

Ironically, Trump recently delivered a primetime address in which he claimed that China is tinkering with U.S. elections and insisted that the way to stop it is for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. That bill would establish national ID requirements, create proof of citizenship standards and dramatically restrict mail-in voting

The real goal of the legislation is not to save America. It is to spare Trump from accountability. He caters strictly to his base and no one else. He alienates voters in marginalized groups, and then tries to keep those groups from voting and giving him the electoral spanking that he so richly deserves.

In the midterm elections, where Democrats will likely regain control of the House of Representatives, Trump wants to sculpt the electorate. He wants his supporters to turn out, and for his opponents to get turned away.

Meanwhile, what I want is for more Americans to realize that the concept of undocumented immigrants committing voter fraud is far-fetched.

Three reasons why:

First, in the United States, our ballot choices are usually so poor that they don't inspire citizens to vote, much less the undocumented who risk being detected and deported.

Second, many of these folks come from countries where there is zero trust in government, politics, or politicians and this probably makes them less likely to vote in this country.

And finally, I've interviewed dozens of illegal immigrants and not one of them ever expressed a desire to cast a ballot so they get one of those cute little red-white-and-blue stickers that announces to the world: "I voted!"

One last thing. Given that the majority of non-citizens in this country are Latino, it is pathetic for a Republican president who, in 2024, made history by winning about 48% of the Latino vote cower at the possibility that non-citizens could show up at the polls.

We never heard that complaint from former President Ronald Reagan, who got 40% of the Latino vote in his 1984 reelection. Of course, whereas Reagan was often described as a happy warrior, Trump is more of a paranoid bully.

To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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