The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation after New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill disclosed that a software error led to thousands of non-citizens being registered to vote and that several hundred later cast ballots, as reported by Trending Politics News.
Sherrill announced that a malfunction in the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s voter registration system resulted in approximately 6,600 individuals who identified themselves as non-U.S. citizens being registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024.
According to the governor, the affected individuals accurately answered “no” when asked through a keypad prompt whether they were U.S. citizens while applying for driver’s licenses or state identification cards.
Despite those responses, the system registered them to vote.
Sherrill said a preliminary review found that slightly fewer than 400 of those individuals subsequently voted in elections after being registered.
She stated that the voters were registered as Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters and were located throughout the state.
The governor attributed the registrations to a software issue involving the vendor IDEMIA during the period in which New Jersey’s automatic voter registration system processed motor vehicle transactions.
Sherrill said the issue occurred before she took office and stated that the problem had only recently been discovered.
She also maintained that the error did not alter the outcome of any election.
“It’s unacceptable that no one in the previous administration brought this to light, demanded accountability, or took action when it happened years ago,” she 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.”
Following the governor’s announcement, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division confirmed that it had begun an investigation into the matter.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, announced the investigation in a public statement.
“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.”
She later added:
“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 added.
“Ensuring that U.S. citizens’ votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens’ votes is of paramount importance.”
According to the announcement, federal investigators are seeking records related to the approximately 6,600 voter registrations, the individuals who cast ballots and the state’s voter registration system.
The investigation follows earlier actions taken by the Justice Department concerning election administration and voter registration records.
In February, the department filed lawsuits against New Jersey and several other states seeking voter registration records as part of federal oversight involving voter eligibility requirements.
Earlier this month, Dhillon also sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia reminding them of federal obligations to maintain accurate voter registration lists.
The letters warned that election officials who knowingly retain non-citizens on statewide voter rolls or facilitate voting by non-citizens could face potential criminal liability under applicable federal law.
The correspondence also stated that the department was prepared to assist states with compliance efforts.
The Justice Department has not announced a timeline for completing its investigation.
State officials have indicated they are continuing to review the affected voter registrations while removing those that were created because of the software error and examining how the malfunction occurred.
