The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a Civil Rights Division investigation after New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill acknowledged that thousands of non-citizens were mistakenly registered to vote because of what she described as a software error at the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission.
According to Sherrill, approximately 6,600 non-citizens were improperly added to New Jersey’s voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024. The governor said the problem stemmed from a flaw in the automatic voter registration system used during driver’s license and state identification card applications.
Sherrill explained that applicants correctly identified themselves as non-citizens through a keypad prompt during the application process. Despite those responses, the software still registered them to vote.
The governor further revealed that just under 400 of those improperly registered individuals went on to cast ballots in elections held since 2023. She stated that those voters were spread across multiple political affiliations, including Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters, and were located throughout the state.
According to Sherrill, the problem was tied to software provided by the vendor IDEMIA during the period in question. New Jersey operates an automatic voter registration system linked to motor vehicle transactions, with applicants responsible for answering citizenship and eligibility questions accurately.
While announcing the discovery, Sherrill sought to place responsibility on the previous administration of former Governor Phil Murphy, arguing that the issue originated before she assumed office and had only recently come to light.
“It’s unacceptable that no one in the previous administration brought this to light, demanded accountability, or took action when it happened years ago,” Sherrill said. “This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now because the people of New Jersey shouldn’t have to wait a year for a problem to get solved, or two years to learn it even happened.”
The governor also maintained that the erroneous registrations did not alter the outcome of any election. Nevertheless, the admission prompted an immediate response from the Justice Department.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, announced that a federal investigation is now underway.
“Today, NJ Gov. Sherrill stated that 400 non-citizens voted in elections. This is unacceptable and illegal! The Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department is investigating this unlawful dilution of American votes,” Dhillon said.
She also emphasized the scope of the issue in a follow-up statement.
“Earlier today you represented that approximately 6,600 people who self-identified as noncitizens between June 2023 and June 2024 were nevertheless registered to vote in New Jersey. Indeed, approximately 400 of those individuals voted,” Dhillon said. “Ensuring that U.S. citizens’ votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens’ votes is of paramount importance.”
As part of the investigation, federal officials have requested access to New Jersey’s voter registration records, including documentation related to the approximately 6,600 registrations and the nearly 400 ballots that were cast.
The investigation follows previous efforts by the Justice Department to increase oversight of voter registration practices. Earlier this year, the department filed lawsuits against New Jersey and several other states over voter registration list compliance. More recently, Dhillon sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia reminding them of their legal obligations to maintain accurate voter rolls. The letters warned that election officials who knowingly allow non-citizens to remain on statewide voter registration lists or facilitate illegal voting could face criminal liability under federal law while also offering federal assistance to help states comply with existing election requirements.
The federal investigation is expected to focus on how the registrations occurred, whether existing safeguards failed, and what corrective actions are necessary to prevent similar incidents from happening in future elections.
Leave a Comment