New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D.) announced Tuesday that a “software error” in the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission system registered 6,600 non-citizens to vote between June 2023 and June 2024 even though they had indicated they were not U.S. citizens on driver’s license and ID applications.
New Jersey is one of approximately 31 states that has refused to provide full, unredacted voter registration lists to the Department of Justice for the Civil Rights Division’s ongoing review of U.S. voter rolls.
Sherrill emphasized that the error happened “under the previous administration” and alleged that a preliminary analysis showed that fewer than 400 of these individuals actually cast ballots in elections.
Sherill was preceded by Democrat Governor Phil Murphy, who appears to have concealed the issue after it was caught in 2024.
She told reporters during a news conference Tuesday that it was unacceptable that the “previous administration” didn’t bring the system error to light and demand accountability.
In a statement on the governor’s website, Sherrill said when she found out what happened, she “immediately ordered my chief counsel to launch an investigation to get to the bottom of what occurred.”
“I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024” she added. “The new MVC Administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system.”
Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted. They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state.
I want to underscore how seriously I take this matter. As a military veteran who swore an oath to defend our Constitution, and as a former federal prosecutor, I believe the integrity of our elections is fundamental to our democracy. 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. This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now. I am taking action to prevent anything like it from occurring in the future and make sure those responsible are held accountable.
Sherrill also took the opportunity to bash President Trump’s election integrity efforts and patted herself on the back for taking immediate action to fix the problem.
She stated that Trump has “zero credibility on the issue” due to his efforts to expose how the 2020 election was rigged.
“As the Trump Administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections. Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity,” the governor said.
For more than ten years, he has worked to undermine Americans’ faith in our elections by spreading lies about legitimate election results, attempting to overturn a free and fair election, encouraging an attack on our Capitol when he couldn’t accept the will of the voters, and defunding election security at the federal level.
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The difference is simple: when we find a problem, we don’t hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies. We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public. That’s what accountability and good governance look like, and that’s exactly what my administration is doing.
New Jerseyans should have confidence that every eligible citizen can vote, every lawful vote will be counted, and every reasonable step will be taken to protect the integrity of our elections. That’s my responsibility, and it’s one I will never stop fighting to uphold.
The New Jersey governor has gone out of her way to oppose the Trump administration’s policies on illegal immigration.
Sherrill took an immediate action against the Trump’s deportation effort after she took office on January 20, 2026, signing an executive order banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from conducting immigration enforcement on state property. The new governor also created an online portal encouraging state residents to upload cellphone videos and photos of ICE activity in their neighborhoods.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), meanwhile, revealed last week that it has found nearly 300 thousand non-citizens registered throughout the U.S., with more than 35,000 suspect names identified in New Jersey.
When asked about this number during the press conference, Sherill said she hadn’t “seen any proof of that,” but that her administration was still investigating.
Republican office holders were swift to comment on Sherill’s disclosure that 6,600 non-citizens had to be removed from the voter rolls in New Jersey.
“This should’ve been done a LONG time ago,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin posted on X. Just ONE illegal vote cancels out the vote of a U.S. citizen. As @DHSgov
reported last week—New Jersey could have as many as 35,152 potential non-citizens registered to vote. Looking forward to working with you to secure your elections in the future.”
“Yet another reason to PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!” the White House’s “rapid response” team posted on X. “It would require states to submit voter rolls to the USCIS/DHS SAVE system for citizenship verification (which New Jersey currently does not do) — preventing this exact scenario from happening in the first place.”
Senator Dave McCormick (R-Penn.) and DHS echoed the White House’s call for legislative action.
“New Jersey just admitted 6,000 noncitizens were on its voter rolls and nearly 400 of them voted,” McCormick posted on X. “This isn’t a harmless ‘software error.’ This is why we must confirm citizenship before anyone registers,” the senator added. “Only US citizens should vote in our elections. Pass the SAVE America Act.”
“This is exactly why the SAVE America Act MUST PASS,” DHS stated. “It would prevent situations like this from happening by REQUIRING states to submit their voter rolls into our SAVE system to verify voters are citizens.”
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