The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is notifying roughly 6,600 non-citizens that a software error placed them on the state’s voter rolls even though they had said they were not U.S. citizens.
The official notice, dated July 24, tells recipients that a review found they had selected “No” when asked whether they were American citizens during an in-person transaction at a motor vehicle agency between June 12, 2023, and June 25, 2024.
“Due to a software-related issue affecting transmission of certain responses, notwithstanding your selection of ‘No’ to the U.S. citizenship question, your information was transmitted to the Statewide Voter Registration System for voter registration,” the letter states.
The notice does not accuse recipients of wrongdoing and makes clear that the MVC’s computer system caused the error.
“The State is working quickly to remedy this serious error,” the agency said.
The letter, sent in English and Spanish, directs recipients to a state website for additional information. It is on the MVC letterhead and is signed by the MVC’s Legal Affairs Division, a potentially alarming signature for immigrants; it could also serve as documentation if the voter registration comes up during an interview with immigration officials. Sherrill’s name is on the letterhead.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill has said fewer than 400 of the 6,600 non-citizens ultimately cast ballots.
The affected individuals had answered the citizenship question correctly while applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards, but the system transmitted their information for voter registration anyway.
Sherrill, who took office nearly three years after the software problem began, reassured noncitizens last week that the registrations occurred “through no fault of their own.” She said the state would not prosecute anyone for being registered or for voting illegally, but could not say what the U.S. Department of Justice might do.
She ordered an immediate investigation after learning of the problem.
State officials have begun removing the affected registrations from the voter rolls. It remains unclear in which elections the ballots were cast or whether any of them could have affected the outcome of a race.
The disclosure came after President Donald Trump alleged during a prime-time address that as many as 35,152 non-citizens were registered to vote in New Jersey.