SerpApi.Org
A “serious software error” in New Jersey Motor Vehicle’s system lead to roughly 400 non-citizens being registered to vote, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday.
Around 6,600 people who indicated they were not citizens between June 2023 and June 2024 — by answering “no” when asked if they were U.S. citizens when applying for a driver’s’ license or identification card — were registered by the software system regardless “through no fault of their own,” Sherrill said.
Although this mix-up happened during former Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, an investigation has been launched, according to Sherrill. Those who were mistakenly registered to vote will be removed from voter rolls.
“Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted. They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state,” Sherrill said in a statement.
The NJ DMV will also replace the vendor who was responsible for the system, MVC Chair and Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson said during a joint press conference Tuesday with Sherrill and Lt. Gov. Dr. Dale Caldwell.
“In regards to the system error MVC experienced in ’23 and ’24, we are actively working with a new vendor to ensure that this type of technical malfunction does not happen in the future and expect to launch with the new vendor next year.”
Johnson said that the department is “working to create additional safeguards to review the data that is sent to the Division of Elections on a regular basis to check for any system errors.”
According to the governor, the error was fixed in 2024 — a year after it surfaced.
Sherrill went on to lambast the previous administration saying that is was “unacceptable that no one from the previous administration brought this to light, demanded accountability or took action when it happened.”
President Donald Trump has blamed voter fraud for his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. State officials and federal investigators, including Trump’s own attorney general, have said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 contest. However, Trump has continued to assert his claim of widespread voter fraud.
With this in mind, Sherrill also addressed the topic. She said in part: “As the Trump Administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections. Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity. For more than ten years, he has worked to undermine Americans’ faith in our elections by spreading lies about legitimate election results, attempting to overturn a free and fair election, encouraging an attack on our Capitol when he couldn’t accept the will of the voters, and defunding election security at the federal level.”
