A rare purge of New Jersey’s voter rolls has narrowed the already shrinking gap between registered Democrats and Republicans.
The state’s total voter registration dropped by nearly 225,000 since early February as election officials removed inactive voters who had missed multiple federal elections, state records show. It was the first such removal in two years. After factoring in new registrations, Republicans lost nearly 50,000 fewer voters than Democrats in February.
The number of registered Democrats dropped to 2,448,324 on March 1, a decline of 89,607 or 3.53% since the start of the year and 87,174 since Feb. 1. Republican registration meanwhile fell to 1,614,140, a decrease of just 27,441 or 1.67% this year and 37,921 in a month. Unaffiliated voters saw a drop on par with the Democrats, decreasing by 85,209 or 3.32% since the start of 2025.
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The total number of registered voters in New Jersey, including those affiliated with minor parties, stands at 6,550,317 at the beginning of March, a 3.04% decline since Jan. 1, state records show.
To start March, New Jersey Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 834,184 voters, down from 896,350 to start the year and from 940,815 to begin March 2024. Over the last 12 months, Democratic registration has fallen by 44,542, while Republican registration has grown by 62,089, according to the New Jersey Division of Elections’ voter registration statistics archive.
The Democratic lead over unaffiliated voters tightened to 35,697 to start March, down from an 87,198-voter advantage on Election Day in 2020. That was the year Democrats first surpassed unaffiliated voters as the state’s largest voting bloc.
The decline in Democratic voter registration in New Jersey since Joe Biden’s 2020 victory has continued in the wake of the 2024 presidential election.
Partial New Jersey voter registration form available on the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections website.
Voter turnout in 2024 was lower than in 2020, particularly in Democratic strongholds, according to state records. President Donald Trump, however, performed well in towns with high turnout rates and flipped several working-class municipalities in Bergen and Passaic counties, including Passaic, Garfield and Lodi, showing a shift toward the GOP in traditionally blue towns.
Despite losing New Jersey in all three of his presidential campaigns, Trump’s vote total increased each time, rising by about 366,000 between 2016 and 2024.
While Republican numbers have been growing relative to Democrats, it is unclear how voter registration will change ahead of the state’s June primary elections. Registration typically increases before primaries, and this year’s contested governor’s race could drive more voters to sign up for both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Ten candidates — six Democrats and four Republicans — are vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy this year. The Democratic field includes Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney. Republicans running include State Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, former state Sen. Ed Durr and radio personality Bill Spadea.
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The race is expected to draw significant attention as June approaches. Affordability, housing and public safety are already central issues in the race. Several candidates have focused their campaigns on addressing New Jersey’s high taxes and cost of living, while others are honing in on education, infrastructure and law enforcement policy.
The June primary elections will determine which candidates advance to the general election. Due to New Jersey’s closed primary election rules, registered Democrats and Republicans can only vote for candidates from their respective parties.
Residents can check their registration status or register to vote via the state Division of Elections’ website at https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/vote.shtml.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ’s voter rolls purged. See why, which party lost the most voters
