Sherrill: New Jersey is purging non-citizens from its voter rolls

FILE PHOTO: A general view inside the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services building on September 20, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today is the first day of early voting in Minnesota ahead of the 2024 presidential election this November. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

(The Center Square) — New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the state is moving to purge more than 6,600 non-citizens who were illegally registered to vote because of a software glitch.

In a statement Tuesday, Sherrill said her administration has "moved aggressively" to deal with the aftermath of the voter registration scandal that has become national news.

“Over the last seven days, we've moved aggressively on multiple fronts — reaching out directly to those affected and beginning the process of correcting the voter rolls," Sherrill, a first-term Democrat, said in the statement. "New Jerseyans should have confidence that every eligible citizen can vote, every lawful vote will be counted, and their government will act quickly and transparently when problems arise."

The state Division of Elections has begun removing more than 4,500 individuals who were registered solely due to a "software error," she said. The remaining voter registrations — about 2,100 — will be referred to county election officials "for additional review to ensure that any lawfully registered voters are not being disenfranchised."

Sherrill said her administration is taking the "extra step" because its preliminary review indicates that "a number of these individuals may be citizens." She cited similar issues in other states "where clerical and administrative voter registration errors have occurred."

“Just as we have an obligation to remove everyone who is not eligible to vote, we also have a responsibility to protect the voting rights of eligible New Jersey citizens and ensure no one is improperly removed from the rolls," Sherrill said. "And we are going to do just that."

The state's preliminary investigation, unveiled last week, found that between June 2023 and 2024 about 6,600 non-citizens were erroneously registered to vote by the state Motor Vehicle Commission's software system when they were applying for state drivers' licenses or identification.

At least 400 of those non-citizens cast ballots in elections during those years, according to the Sherrill administration.

Sherrill has blamed a "software glitch" by Idemia, a France-based technology company that operates the motor vehicle registration system that occurred under then Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who left office in January.

But the company has pushed back on those claims, saying it used written specifications provided by the Murphy administration and that New Jersey's Division of Elections was responsible for verifying eligibility to vote.

New Jersey Republicans are calling for a special legislative commission to look into the integrity of the state's voting system in the wake of the scandal. They've also filed a bill that would eliminate the state's automatic voter registration system.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department is demanding more information from the Democratic governor and vowing to conduct a more federal investigation into how the non-citizens were allowed to register to vote and cast ballots. The DOJ has requested a list of the non-citizens that were registered to vote.

Sherrill, a former congresswoman, lashed out at President Donald Trump on Tuesday and accused his administration of trying to "weaponize" the incident to cast doubt on the upcoming midterm elections.

"And they are trying to target the individuals affected, who were registered through no fault of their own," she said. "I won’t let them do either. "

The New Jersey voter registration scandal is also prompting other states that have contracted with Idemia for technology systems to conduct reviews of their voter registration systems. The company is also a vendor for the federal government.

Last week, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, requested a government-wide audit of federal contracts involving Idemia, noting that it "sits at the center of the federal government’s identity, screening, and border infrastructure."