New Jersey officials said Tuesday that a software error in the state’s Motor Vehicle System mistakenly added about 6,600 noncitizens to voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024. Governor Mikie Sherrill said the affected individuals had identified themselves as noncitizens while applying for identification documents but were nevertheless registered to vote.
A preliminary state analysis found that fewer than 400 of those individuals cast ballots. Sherrill said officials currently have no evidence that the error changed the outcome of any election. The registrations occurred before she took office in January. She has ordered the affected names removed and said the state would investigate the failures, improve safeguards, and pursue accountability.
The disclosure adds a specific administrative error to the broader national debate over election integrity. President Donald Trump has argued that voting systems face serious vulnerabilities and recently ordered the release of intelligence materials that his administration said supported those concerns. An Associated Press review concluded that the released documents did not establish widespread voter fraud or foreign manipulation of American elections.
Before Trump’s recent address, the Department of Homeland Security said preliminary reviews had identified 35,152 noncitizens on New Jersey’s voter rolls, along with larger or smaller totals in California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. DHS did not publish the underlying data, explain its methodology in detail, or specify whether the individuals had voted.
New Jersey has more than 6.6 million registered voters. The 6,600 registrations attributed to the software error represent less than 0.1 percent of the statewide total, while the DHS estimate represents roughly 0.5 percent. Sherrill criticized both the earlier administrative failures and Trump’s election claims, while emphasizing that the state would take corrective action. The episode highlights the distinction between improper registration, actual voting, and evidence that election outcomes were directly affected by any identified irregularities.