A software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission system led to roughly 6,600 noncitizens being registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday.
The residents had applied for driver’s licenses or ID cards and answered “no” when asked on a keypad whether they were U.S. citizens. The system registered them to vote anyway.
“Through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” Sherrill said in a statement. “This happened under the previous administration.”
What Sherrill Ordered
Sherrill said she learned of the error last week and immediately directed her chief counsel to investigate. She also ordered the removal of anyone erroneously added to the voter rolls during that one-year window.
The error occurred under former Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, before Sherrill took office in January.
Fewer Than 400 Voted
Sherrill’s office said preliminary analysis found fewer than 400 of those registered by the error actually cast ballots. The group included Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters spread across the state.
Sherrill added that there’s no evidence any election outcome was affected by the error.
Vendor Being Replaced
The MVC has begun replacing IDEMIA, the vendor that administered the system responsible for the error. MVC Chair and Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson said Tuesday the agency is working with a new vendor, with a replacement system expected to launch next year.
Sherrill, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor, framed the disclosure as a contrast with the Trump administration’s push for stricter voter-ID and citizenship-verification rules in Congress.
“When we find a problem, we don’t hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies,” she said. “We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public.”
“New Jerseyans should have confidence that every eligible citizen can vote, every lawful vote will be counted, and every reasonable step will be taken to protect the integrity of our elections. That’s my responsibility, and it’s one I will never stop fighting to uphold,” she added.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.