New Jersey Gov. says software glitch mistakenly registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote
A review by Governor Mikie Sherrill found that a motor-vehicle system error registered about 6,600 noncitizens in New Jersey, of whom roughly 400 voted, and the state is removing the names from voter rolls.
Governor Mikie Sherrill said a review uncovered that a software error in New Jersey's motor-vehicle system caused roughly 6,600 noncitizens to be registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024. About 400 of those individuals cast ballots, though officials have not determined which elections were affected and said there is no evidence that any results were altered.
"They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state," Sherrill said.
The governor said the error occurred when the system recorded applicants as citizens despite their answers on a keypad indicating otherwise. The state is now deleting the erroneous registrations and has begun an investigation, including replacing the vendor Idemia responsible for the software.
Sherrill criticized the prior administration for not addressing the issue earlier and declined to provide personal data to federal officials, citing concerns over misuse. The Department of Homeland Security had previously claimed thousands of noncitizens were registered in the state, a claim the governor has asked to be substantiated.
Similar registration mistakes have been reported in other states, but the New Jersey incident is larger in scale than recent examples in Oregon and California.