Error in New Jersey motor vehicle system led to 6,600 noncitizen voter registrations, governor says

About 6,600 people who indicated they were noncitizens while obtaining New Jersey driver’s licenses and other state IDs were improperly registered to vote in 2023 and 2024, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said on Tuesday.

The Democratic governor, who took office this year, blamed a Motor Vehicle Commission system software error but said a preliminary analysis showed that fewer than 400 of the people registered that way went on to cast ballots.

The revelation comes as President Donald Trump and other Republicans continue to assert that voting by noncitizens is rampant in U.S. elections, even though it’s rare and, when caught, can be punished as a felony that can lead to deportation.

Sherrill said she has ordered that erroneously added voter registrations from that 2023-24 period be removed and is replacing the vendor who ran the system. She also is launching an investigation into how the error happened.

“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,” she said in a statement.

Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, was governor then. The Associated Press was making efforts to contact him or his representatives.

New Jersey is among several states that allow noncitizens to hold driver’s licenses and other state-issued ID cards.