6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote in N.J. because of a ‘software error,’ governor says - NBC News

What the report says

NBC News reported that New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Tuesday that about 6,600 noncitizens were mistakenly placed on the state’s voter rolls between 2023 and 2024 because of what she described as a serious software problem in the Motor Vehicle Commission system. Sherrill said nearly 400 of those people cast ballots, though she said officials had not found evidence that any election outcome was changed.

According to Sherrill, the affected residents had indicated they were not U.S. citizens while applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards, but the system registered them anyway. She said the names are being removed from voter rolls, the state has opened its own investigation, and officials are replacing the vendor tied to the error, Idemia. Idemia told NBC its role is to transmit motor vehicle information and said New Jersey election officials are responsible for verifying voter eligibility.

The issue quickly became part of a broader national dispute over election administration. The Justice Department, through Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, requested identifying and voting information for the 6,600 people, including details on the roughly 400 who allegedly voted. Sherrill said she does not intend to provide personally identifying information to the federal government, citing concerns about how it could be used.

NBC noted that mistaken voter registrations involving noncitizens have occurred in other states, including Oregon and California, though usually with small numbers of ballots cast. The New Jersey case is significant because of its scale and because it comes amid renewed Republican calls, backed by President Donald Trump, for stricter proof-of-citizenship requirements in federal voting law.