New Jersey officials disclosed Tuesday that a software malfunction at the Motor Vehicle Commission resulted in approximately 6,600 noncitizens being incorrectly added to the state's voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024. Fewer than 400 of those individuals voted before the registrations were identified and removed.
The registration error occurred when applicants who visited the MVC to obtain driver's licenses or identification cards correctly indicated they were not U.S. Citizens, yet a system flaw automatically registered them to vote despite their responses.
"Through no fault of their own, the system registered them," Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement.
The disclosure came five days after President Donald Trump delivered remarks in which he claimed 35,152 noncitizens appeared on New Jersey's voter rolls and estimated approximately 250,000 noncitizens were registered across New Jersey, California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Sherrill said she learned of the issue last week and directed state officials to investigate while removing all improperly created registrations from the affected period. "I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024," She stated. She noted that the new MVC administrator she appointed has begun replacing the vendor responsible for the system.
The software was administered by IDEMIA, a company providing digital identity and biometric services to government agencies. The state has completed removal of the improper registrations.
"Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted," Sherrill said. "They were registered as Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state."
State officials have not disclosed which elections received those votes or whether any contests were affected.
The software errors occurred during Latrecia Littles-Floyd's tenure as acting MVC chief administrator under the previous governor. Officials have not determined whether Littles-Floyd or others in the prior administration were aware of the defect before it became public.
"I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen, and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time," Sherrill said, adding that "This failure didn't occur under my watch, but accountability starts now."
Sherrill also criticized Trump's election security claims, stating: "The difference is simple: when we find a problem, we don't hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies. We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public. That's what accountability and good governance look like, and that's exactly what my administration is doing."