NJ Lawmakers Urge State To Release IDs Of Noncitizen Voters

Lawmakers in New Jersey are calling on state election officials to release the names of the noncitizens who mistakenly received voter eligibility during the previous administration.

Last week, Sherrill said a software error in New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission system led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens, with fewer than 400 of them going on to vote.

The error occurred between June 2023 and June 2024, under the previous administration, Sherrill said. Affected individuals had answered "no" when asked on a keypad whether they were U.S. citizens while applying for driver's licenses or identification cards, but the system registered them to vote regardless.

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has advised that all people who believe they were mistakenly given voter registration to request removal from the voter rolls.

Sherrill said an investigation into the error is underway.

Related: Hundreds Of Noncitizens Voted In NJ Due To MVC Error, Sherrill Says

Now, lawmakers are calling on the New Jersey Division of Elections to release the names of all the noncitizens who were mistakenly registered to vote, whether they actually voted or not.

A letter by Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee Kristin M. Corrado says all county commissioners of registration, superintendents of elections, county boards of elections, county clerks, and any other appropriate local election officials should be given the names.

"This situation resulted from a failure in the State’s voter registration process and warrants a complete, transparent, and proactive response," the letter reads. "When the State becomes aware that ineligible voter registrations may exist, it should promptly notify the appropriate election officials so those registrations can be reviewed and addressed in accordance with applicable law. Correcting an error of this magnitude should not depend solely on the voluntary compliance of the individuals affected."

The letter adds that these steps would "help reassure New
Jersey voters that the State is committed to maintaining accurate voter rolls and safeguarding the integrity of every election."

"We’re Going To Fix It," Sherrill Says

Since discovering the MVC's error, the Sherrill administration has been scrambling to correct it.

Sherrill says that the Division of Elections has already begun a process that will remove more than 4,500 people who were registered solely through this software error. The roughly 2,000 remaining registrations are being reviewed by county election officials to "ensure that any lawfully registered voters are not being disenfranchised."

More: NJ Purging Thousands From The Voter Rolls After Registration 'Error'

"This is what accountable government looks like," Sherrill said. "We inherited a problem. We didn't hide it. We didn't deny it. We're investigating it. And we’re going to fix it, the right way."