Former Gov. Phil Murphy had no knowledge of a software error that resulted in thousands of non-citizens being mistakenly added to New Jersey’s voter rolls, his spokesman said Friday.
“Prior to Tuesday, Governor Murphy had no knowledge of any software glitch at the Motor Vehicle Commission that resulted in non-citizens being inadvertently added to New Jersey’s voter rolls,” said Mahen Gunaratna, a spokesman for the former governor. “He applauds Governor Sherrill for initiating a review and looks forward to the findings.”
The error affected roughly 6,600 non-citizens who visited MVC offices between June 2023 and June 2024. Although they indicated that they were not U.S. citizens, a software glitch registered them to vote anyway. Fewer than 400 subsequently cast ballots, according to the Sherrill administration.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who took office in January, has blamed the controversy on failures during the Murphy administration, saying the problem went undisclosed and unaddressed long after it was discovered. She has ordered an independent investigation and pledged to make its findings public.
Latrecia Littles-Floyd, Murphy’s acting MVC chief administrator, headed the agency during the period when the faulty registrations occurred. Littles-Floyd has not responded to multiple calls to her cell phone seeking comment.
Sherrill replaced Littles-Floyd with Rosalie Johnson, a former top motor vehicles official from Colorado. Still, Sherrill briefly considered Littles-Floyd as a candidate for superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
Murphy made expanding access to the ballot a central part of his election agenda during his eight years as governor. His administration oversaw the broad use of vote-by-mail, implemented in-person early voting, and expanded automatic voter registration through the MVC under the state’s motor voter law.
The relationship between Sherrill and her predecessor became strained last year when Murphy sought to fill vacant appointments in state government, and continued during issues related to the World Cup.