Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) said a software error in New Jersey's motor-vehicle registration system mistakenly registered approximately 6,600 noncitizens to vote [1].
The incident highlights vulnerabilities in the automated data pipelines used to maintain voter rolls, a critical issue as states seek to ensure election integrity.
The error occurred within the state's motor-vehicle registration database, which feeds data directly into the voter-registration system [2]. According to the governor, a serious software glitch caused noncitizens to be incorrectly flagged as eligible voters [4]. This technical failure took place over a one-year period between June 2023 and June 2024 [1].
While thousands were added to the rolls, the number of people who actually participated in elections was significantly lower. State data indicates that nearly 400 of these noncitizens cast ballots [2].
New Jersey uses a system where residents can register to vote while applying for or renewing a driver's license. The software error bypassed the necessary citizenship verification checks during this process [2]. The governor's office said it identified the glitch after a review of the motor-vehicle registration data [1].
Officials have not yet detailed the specific nature of the code failure or the steps taken to prevent a recurrence of the error. The discovery comes as election officials across the U.S. face increasing pressure to audit voter rolls for accuracy and eligibility [6].
“Approximately 6,600 noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote due to a software error.”
This event underscores the risks associated with 'motor voter' automation, where administrative errors in one government agency can create legal vulnerabilities in another. While the number of noncitizens who actually voted is a small fraction of those registered, the presence of ineligible voters on official rolls often fuels political disputes over election security and the reliability of state-managed databases.
