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Conservative pundit Scott Jennings grilled CNN host Abby Phillip over the New Jersey voter registration scandal, questioning how much “tolerance” the journo has for fraud after she dismissed arguments it was evidence of a broader problem.
During CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip” Tuesday, the host discussed New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill’s announcement that more than 6,000 immigrants were wrongly added to the Garden State’s voter rolls, with around 400 non-citizens casting ballots in elections since 2023.
“This is obviously not a great situation, she [Sherill] acknowledged that, but it also doesn’t demonstrate that there’s widespread voter fraud in New Jersey or anywhere,” Phillip said.
Jesse Arm, head of external affairs at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank in New York City, jumped in, pressing: “In New Jersey? 6,600 non-citizens made it onto the voter rolls. That, to me, is pretty widespread voter fraud.”
“That’s widespread?” Phillip asked. “Do you know what’s the percentage?”
The news anchor noted that those 6,600 non-citizens would represent 0.006% of registered voters in the state and that only roughly 400 cast ballots in elections.
Sherill won her gubernatorial election by half a million votes, so even if all 400 non-citizens voted for her, it would represent about 1/100th of all votes cast in a state with 6.8 million registered voters, Phillip added.
As Arm repeatedly stuck by his initial claim that the scandal was proof of widespread voter fraud, Phillip pressed: “What’s your definition of widespread, by the way? Is it 1%? Is it 2%?”
Jennings jumped into the debate, asking Phillip: “What’s your tolerance for this?”
“Hold on, this is not about tolerance, this is about is it widespread or is it something that is relatively rare, Scott,” Phillip replied.
Jennings responded: “You’re pounding him over the word widespread. I just would ask you, what is your tolerance for any fraud at all?”
Phillip turned the conversation back to the definition of widespread, to which Jennings replied: “I have zero tolerance for this. By the way, this isn’t the only place this is happening.”
“Why are you okay, then, with the administration using a system that a federal judge recently found was actively removing US citizens from the voter rolls based on inaccurate information? Why are you comfortable with that system being used to check the voter rolls?” Phillip asked.
The news anchor was referencing a decision from a federal judge in June that blocked the Trump administration from creating a database of Americans’ personal information, claiming inaccurate data had been fed to states that were “actively” and “haphazardly” removing people from voter rolls.
Jennings retorted: “This is a convenient deflection for you. This is the worst possible story that could happen for Democrats right now regarding the debate over the SAVE Act.”
The White House called the shocking Garden State revelation proof the US needs to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide evidence they are citizens and show ID at the polls.
During a prime-time address to the nation last week, Trump claimed nearly 250,000 non-citizens were registered to vote in California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania, including up to 35,152 in the Garden State.
Sherill has confirmed she received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security with the same figure, but said she has not heard back after asking for evidence and more information on the data.
She blamed the automatic registration of about 6,600 non-citizens between June 2023 and June 2024 on a “software glitch” at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
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