SerpApi.Org
New York state pols are demanding answers from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration and elections officials amid the unfolding scandal in New Jersey where thousands of non-citizens were registered to vote.
Republican members of the state Assembly, in a letter obtained by The Post Wednesday, called for a hearing to examine whether New York voter rolls could have been exposed to the same “vulnerabilities.”
Officials in Jersey said Tuesday a software error by a contractor, Idemia, led to 6,000 immigrants being signed up to vote, even though they checked a box indicating they weren’t citizens and therefore weren’t eligible.
Idemia, the massive identify verification company contracted to help process drivers licenses in New Jersey, also does work for New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles and other agencies.
“While there is no evidence at this time that New York has experienced a similar failure, the shared vendor relationship, together with the substantial public investment in this technology, warrants prompt legislative oversight to determine whether comparable vulnerabilities exist within New York’s voter registration process,” Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Putnam), ranking member of the Assembly Elections Committee, wrote in the letter.
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Idemia has billed nearly a quarter billion dollars of work for various Empire State agencies dating back to 2005, including $15.5 million worth of long-term contracts for fingerprinting services entered this year alone, public records show.
State elections officials rejected any assertion that non-citizens have been added to New York voter rolls, noting that it ultimately falls on them to verify whether someone is eligible to vote.
“There is no indication of such an issue, because New York state does not use any similar external vendor when processing voter registrations,” Kathleen McGrath, a spokesperson for the state Board of Elections told The Post in a statement Wednesday.
“The voter registration process in New York State is different than in New Jersey, and therefore New York State voter registration is not subject to a software issue like the one that has been reported in New Jersey,” she said.
But GOP lawmakers aren’t satisfied with what they consider a lack of clarity about New York’s process for transmitting voter registration information from the DMV — and urged for more transparency.
“This statutory framework makes it essential that the technological systems connecting driver’s license transactions to voter registration accurately distinguish between eligible and ineligible applicants,” Slater wrote.
New York DMV spokesperson Walter McClure said Idemia “has no involvement in the systems used to transfer voter registration applications from DMV to the Board of Elections.”
“DMV does not process the applications but submits them to the State and county boards of elections,” the DMV spokesperson said.
A source familiar with Idemia’s operation in New York said the company’s work was limited to managing the state’s mobile ID program, which is separate from the voter registration process.
A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to comment, even as New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill released a lengthy statement and held a press conference saying she was booting Idemia out of the state over the mess.
In a statement, an Idemia spokesperson said the company was not solely responsible for verifying citizenship status for registered voters in New Jersey.
“IDEMIA’s role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system. The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections,” the rep said.
