New Jersey has removed approximately 5,100 voter registrations and blocked another 1,450 pending review after a Motor Vehicle Commission software error improperly registered thousands of people who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens.
The problem occurred between June 2023 and June 2024, when approximately 6,600 people applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards answered “no” when asked whether they were U.S. citizens but were nevertheless transmitted into the voter registration system. Gov. Mikie Sherrill disclosed the issue in July and ordered an investigation.
According to an update released by the governor’s office on August 19, approximately 5,100 registrations have now been placed in deleted status because those individuals were registered only as a result of the system error and had no separate registration or attestation of voter eligibility.
Another 1,450 registrations have been changed to rejected status, preventing those individuals from voting while county election officials conduct additional reviews. Those cases involve people who had other voter registrations, declarations or transactions that could indicate they were legally eligible to vote.
About 340 People Registered Through the Error Voted
State officials say approximately 340 people who were newly registered because of the software error cast ballots.
Officials also identified about 220 additional people affected by the software problem who voted but had previous registrations or separate attestations suggesting that they may have been eligible voters. Their records are being reviewed by county officials.
The distinction is important: the state has not said that all 6,600 people voted. Most did not.
Investigation Into How the Error Happened Continues
The Sherrill administration says the investigation into how the MVC system allowed the registrations is ongoing.
When she first disclosed the issue on July 21, Sherrill said the error happened under the previous administration and ordered her chief counsel to investigate. She also directed officials to begin replacing the vendor responsible for administering the MVC system.
The Statewide Voter Registration System was temporarily taken offline so election officials could preserve its records and change the status of registrations affected by the error. County election officials have been directed to complete remaining eligibility reviews before voting begins.
The controversy has also drawn attention from federal lawmakers, who are seeking records related to the software and the handling of voter registrations.
For New Jersey, the issue now involves two priorities at once: removing registrations that should never have been created while ensuring that eligible voters caught up in the system error are not improperly removed from the rolls.
Sources: Office of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey Division of Elections, News 12 New Jersey
By NJ RADAR Team