A software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to around 6,600 non-U.S. citizens being registered to vote, according to Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
Sherrill made the announcement during a press conference in Trenton on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
Sherrill said the errors happened between June 2023 and June 2024, while her predecessor, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, was in office.
“These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill said fewer than 400 people who were registered due to the error actually voted in New Jersey. The individuals were registered as Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state, according to Sherrill. She did not reveal the exact amount of people who were mistakenly registered to each party.
Sherrill said she immediately ordered her chief counsel to launch an investigation after she learned about the error last week. She also said she ordered any residents who were mistakenly added to New Jersey voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024 to be removed.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon took to social media on Tuesday evening to announce that the Department of Justice is also launching an investigation into what happened.
Today, NJ Gov. Sherrill stated that 400 non-citizens voted in elections.
This is unacceptable and illegal! The @CivilRights Division @TheJusticeDept is investigating this unlawful dilution of American votes. pic.twitter.com/AI8qHjcYxv— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 21, 2026
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson is working to replace the vendor responsible for administering the system, according to Sherrill.
“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,” Sherrill said. “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 said an independent firm was hired to investigate the error and her administration will look into placing guardrails to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.
NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that 6,600 non-U.S. citizens were registered to vote due to a software error. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk has the latest and spoke with the governor about next steps.
“What are you open to in considering for new guardrails and could that include any additional requirements on voters when they show up at their polling places?” NBC10’s Lauren Mayk asked the governor during Tuesday’s press conference.
“I think we’re open to suggestions that make our elections safer and so that’s part of this investigation,” Sherrill replied. “They’ll have findings on just what occurred and we will be looking carefully at what we can do to ensure it doesn’t occur again.”
The announcement comes less than a week after President Donald Trump delivered a primetime address to elevate his yearslong push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of U.S. elections and dispute his 2020 loss in an appeal for more restrictive voting laws ahead of the midterms.
Trump’s amplification of debunked theories about the election six years ago and his inability to accept his loss led to a mob of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in the final days of his first term.
Sherrill addressed Trump during Tuesday’s announcement.
“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. 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,” Sherrill said. “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.”
Sherrill said the people who were improperly registered are being notified. She also said she realizes the error could imperil people’s immigration status or make them legally vulnerable to the federal government.
“We are working very hard on ways we can protect people here in the state of New Jersey,” she said.
“In terms of protecting them, does that mean you won’t release their information to the feds or anyone else if it’s requested?” Lauren Mayk asked.
“We are not in the practice of releasing personal identifying information to the federal government right now given that the Trump administration continues to weaponize it against people,” Sherrill replied.
Tuesday afternoon, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson released a statement on the governor’s announcement.
“Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot. Time and again, they have been proven wrong. As President Trump has said, there is nothing more important than the integrity of our elections,” Jackson wrote. “And this latest incident underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act. American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure – President Trump will never stop fighting to make that happen and all patriotic Americans should join in his effort.”
