A “serious software error” in New Jersey Motor Vehicle’s system caused about 400 non-citizens to vote in the state, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday.
About 6,600 people who said they were not citizens between June 2023 and June 2024 — and who answered “no” when asked if they were U.S. citizens when applying for a driver’s license or ID card — were still registered by the software system “through no fault of their own,” Sherrill said.
Although this mix-up occurred during former Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, an investigation was launched, according to Sherrill. Anyone who has incorrectly registered as a voter will be removed from the electoral rolls.
“Our preliminary analysis shows that fewer than 400 people were re-registered for the first time as a result of the election error. They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters and were scattered across the state,” Sherrill said in a statement.
The NJ DMV will also replace the vendor that was responsible for the system, MVC Chairwoman and Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson said during a joint press conference Tuesday with Sherrill and Lieutenant Governor Dr. Dale Caldwell.
“In light of the system failure that MVC experienced in years 23 and 24, we are actively working with a new vendor to ensure that this type of technical malfunction does not occur in the future and expect to launch with the new vendor next year.”
Johnson said the department is “working to establish additional safeguards to review the data regularly sent to the Elections Department for any system errors.”
According to the governor, the bug was fixed in 2024 – a year after it surfaced.
Sherrill further criticized the previous administration, saying it was “unacceptable that no one from the previous administration brought this to light, demanded accountability or took action when it happened.”
President Donald Trump blames voter fraud for his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. State officials and federal investigators, including Trump’s own attorney general, said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. However, Trump has continued to press his claim of widespread voter fraud.
With this in mind, Sherrill also addressed the topic. She said in part: “While the Trump administration seeks to exploit elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections. Let me be clear: Donald Trump has no credibility on the issue of election integrity. For more than a decade, he has worked to undermine Americans’ trust 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 cannot accept the will of the voters, and protecting election security at the federal level.” Level.”
A White House spokesman said in a statement that the incident “underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act. American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure.”
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-jersey/serious-software-error-leads-to-400-non-citizens-voting-in-new-jersey-sherrill-said/6528421/
