Overview
- Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday that roughly 6,600 people who answered “no” to the citizenship question were nonetheless added to New Jersey’s voter rolls and that about 400 of those registrants cast ballots.
- State officials say the problem resulted from a Motor Vehicle Commission software error that ran from June 2023 to June 2024 and was fixed in June 2024, and the administration has ordered erroneous registrations removed and retained CSG Law to investigate.
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation, sent a five-business-day demand for names and voting records, and tied the request to ongoing litigation over federal access to New Jersey’s voter database.
- IDEMIA, the vendor blamed by state officials, disputed the state’s account and said it transmitted records according to state design specifications while the Division of Elections is responsible for validating eligibility.
- Republican lawmakers are pressing to end automatic DMV registration, require proof-of-citizenship or voter ID, and seek audits, while New Jersey officials say there is no evidence so far that the improper votes changed any election and have asked DHS for documentation of a larger 35,152 figure.