By: Richard L. Smith
New Jersey officials announced Tuesday that approximately 6,600 non-citizens were mistakenly registered to vote because of a software error in the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) system, prompting an immediate effort to remove the registrations and review the state’s election safeguards.
According to Gov. Mikie Sherrill, the error occurred between June 2023 and June 2024 when individuals applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards indicated they were not U.S. citizens but were nonetheless automatically registered to vote because of a flaw in the MVC’s software.
Officials said the software issue was corrected in June 2024.
State officials said an initial review found that fewer than 400 of those mistakenly registered ultimately cast ballots.
The governor said there is no evidence at this time that the votes changed the outcome of any election, but emphasized that all ineligible registrations are being removed from the voter rolls before November’s election.
An independent investigation has also been launched to determine how the error occurred and why it was not publicly disclosed sooner.
Sherrill called the incident “unacceptable,” saying the state is replacing the software vendor responsible for the faulty system and implementing additional safeguards to prevent a similar problem from occurring again.
She also pledged greater transparency as the investigation moves forward.
The disclosure quickly drew national attention. President Donald Trump and the White House pointed to the incident as evidence supporting stricter election security measures, including federal legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.
Administration officials argued the New Jersey case demonstrates the need for stronger voter registration safeguards nationwide.
The announcement has renewed debate over election integrity and voter registration systems across the country, with state officials maintaining that the issue stemmed from a software malfunction rather than intentional misconduct and reiterating that corrective actions are already underway.