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NJ glitch, 6,600 registered
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said a “serious software error” in the state’s Motor Vehicle System led to about 6,600 people who indicated they were not U.S. citizens being incorrectly registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024.
“New Jersey accidentally registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote years ago, governor says The governor cited a "serious software error" for the incorrect registrations”
Sherrill said the residents answered 'no' on a keypad when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but “through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway.”
Her preliminary analysis found fewer than 400 of the erroneously registered people “actually voted,” and she said the state is taking action to remove them from its voter rolls.
The disclosure came as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to New Jersey and three other states alleging those states might have tens of thousands of noncitizens registered to vote, with Mullin and DHS alleging New Jersey could have “as many as ... 35,152 non-citizens registered to vote in New Jersey.”
DOJ demands names, Trump response
The Department of Justice said Tuesday it is investigating the matter and, in a letter to Sherrill shared on social media, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote, “Ensuring that U.S. citizens' votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens votes is of paramount importance.”
Dhillon asked New Jersey to provide within five business days personal information on the registered noncitizens the state identified and details on the “around 400 who voted,” while a spokesperson for the governor framed the request as part of “a long history” of the White House “weaponizing the Justice Department.”
Sherrill pushed back on election-integrity claims, telling reporters, “Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity.”
Republicans quickly seized on the disclosure to advocate for the SAVE America Act, with the White House rapid response team writing on X, “Yet another reason to PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!”
Removal, investigation, election stakes
Sherrill said she ordered an independent investigation into what happened, the removal of any New Jersey residents from the state's voter rolls who should not have been registered, and that the new administrator of New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission is starting to replace the vendor tasked with running the faulty system.
“More than 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote in NJ in 2023-24 As many as 6,600 non-U”
She said the state has “no evidence at this time that any elections were swayed” by the erroneous registrations, and that the state is taking care to protect the identities of noncitizens who were registered inadvertently so their immigration status does not get imperiled.
In a statement, IDEMIA said it “works with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission” and that its role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is “ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote.”
The episode is now tied to the broader fight over election administration, with the BBC noting the disclosure comes as the Trump administration is pushing to pass strict new voter-ID and proof-of-citizenship rules in Congress, and with Sherrill saying, “We investigate it, fix it, and tell the public.”
