New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill acknowledged Tuesday that roughly 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote in the state due to what she called a “serious software error” in the state’s Motor Vehicle System, with preliminary findings showing that around 400 of those individuals actually cast ballots. The disclosure has reignited calls in Congress for a federal proof-of-citizenship requirement.
Sherrill said the error occurred between June 2023 and June 2024, before she took office, under the previous administration led by then-Governor Phil Murphy. “These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” she said.
She said the improperly registered voters were “scattered across the state” and had signed up under multiple registration categories. Sherrill added, “I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time.”
The admission followed reporting in June by Fox News Digital, which found that noncitizens had been registered to vote in New Jersey over a period of years, with some casting ballots and others coming forward during naturalization proceedings to say they had been registered by mistake. Atlantic County Superintendent of Elections Maureen Bugdon certified in letters that noncitizens had approached her office seeking removal from the rolls, with many citing their noncitizen status as the reason.
New Jersey Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio said the episode points to a broader failure to secure the state’s election system, arguing that the errors would have been corrected at the ballot box “if” state leaders “would embrace voter ID — which has broad public support.” He added that “the MVC’s voter registration failures would have been corrected at the ballot box” had that step been taken, saying Trenton officials “have proven they do not respond to known problems in the voter rolls.” State Senator Joe Pennacchio was more pointed, saying, “Our election integrity is built on a foundation of sand.”
Texas Representative Keith Self said the New Jersey case strengthens the argument for a federal legislative fix. “Just another reason why the Senate needs to pass the SAVE America Act,” he said. The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, before an individual could register to vote in federal elections — a requirement supporters say would have prevented the kind of registration error uncovered in New Jersey, where applicants indicated they were not citizens but were registered regardless.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson tied the New Jersey findings to the broader debate, saying media claims that noncitizen registration is impossible have “time and again… been proven wrong.” She added, “This latest incident underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act.”
Sherrill has directed her administration’s attorney to investigate the matter further and remove the improperly registered voters from the rolls, a process expected to continue in the coming weeks as state and federal officials examine how the software error went undetected for nearly three years.
