WASHINGTON – The software company that New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill blames for getting 6,600 non-citizens on the voter rolls insists that local officials are responsible for illegally registering the immigrants.
Sherrill (D) claimed Tuesday that a “serious software error” in the state’s motor vehicle system involving French technology company IDEMIA caused the mishap that resulted in about 400 non-citizens voting.
But IDEMIA said the state had access to data showing those people were not citizens — but apparently registered them to vote anyway.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and provider IDEMIA blame each other for the voter registration fiasco. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The problem arose from software the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission used to register people to vote when they signed up for a New Jersey ID card — a similar practice used in dozens of states.
ID card recipients who said they wanted to register to vote but said they were not citizens were added to the voter rolls in 2023 and 2024 — even though it was illegal under federal law.
“The 6,600 records submitted [Motor Vehicle Commission] “And the elections department included accurate information according to the design specifications established by the state,” Lisa Shoemaker, a spokeswoman for IDEMIA, told The Post on Wednesday.
“All 6,600 people responded “yes” to their desire to register to vote and “NO” to the question of whether they want to be U.S. citizens,” she added.
“This information was recorded accurately and was available at all times.”
IDEMIA insisted that the data provided to the electoral department was correct. HJBC – stock.adobe.com
“At no time was a non-citizen marked as a citizen in the database.”
IDEMIA’s claims raise questions about why voter registration information submitted with applications for driver’s licenses or ID cards was not properly verified by New Jersey.
It’s not clear whether New Jersey had protections in place for people who made mistakes — or for situations in which people lied about their citizenship.
A New Jersey state official disputed IDEMIA’s claims.
“No, that’s not correct,” the official told The Post. “Any time someone answers “no” to the citizenship question, that record should not be sent to the elections department.”
The debacle occurred under Sherrill’s predecessor, former Gov. Phil Murphy (D). She announced Tuesday that the state had hired an outside group, CSG, to investigate the matter.
“IDEMIA does not control or manage voter registration, our job is simply to collect self-reported citizenship and interest data,” Shoemaker explained.
New Jersey and the federal government are investigating how non-citizens were added to the voter rolls. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
“This leads to further questions: If the Division of Elections was missing information required to register in the state of New Jersey, did the Division of Elections authorize these individuals to be added to the voter rolls?”
Shoemaker said IDEMIA believes the data submitted to the elections department was also missing key information such as party affiliation.
President Trump and his allies have cited the New Jersey scandal as an example of why tougher guardrails are needed to protect election integrity.
For months, Trump has been campaigning for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which, among other things, requires proof of citizenship to vote.
Shortly after Sherrill’s stunning announcement that 6,600 non-citizens in New Jersey had registered to vote, the Justice Department asked the governor to release key data, including the names of people who were incorrectly added to the voter rolls.
New Jersey’s admission of falsely registering 6,600 non-citizens sparked a nationwide firestorm.
The DOJ also referenced the debacle in a filing for its ongoing lawsuit against the Garden State seeking access to its voter roll data.
“The Trump administration has a long history of weaponizing the Justice Department for political purposes and attempting to overturn election results,” Sean Higgins, a spokesman for Sherrill, told The Post.
“Governor Sherrill has made clear that she will use every legal tool at her disposal to protect New Jerseyans’ personal information.”
In response, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on Wednesday called for the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget to review federal contracts with IDEMIA.
The provider manages systems for TSA PreCheck and driver’s license programs in most states.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/22/us-news/software-vendor-says-nj-approved-6600-noncitizens-who-were-registered-to-vote/
