New Jersey voter registration error resulted in approximately 6,600 non-U.S. citizens being mistakenly added to the state’s voter rolls because of a software malfunction, officials revealed on July 21.
The disclosure could strengthen President Donald Trump’s push for tighter voter registration controls. Trump has repeatedly claimed that widespread election fraud is occurring across the United States.
New Jersey Voter Registration Error Traced to DMV Software
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that the state had learned of a software error in the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s system.
The malfunction registered approximately 6,600 noncitizens to vote between June 2023 and June 2024, she said.
New Jersey allows residents to register to vote while applying for a driver’s license. According to the governor, applicants who completed the process online were added to the voter rolls even after answering “no” to a question asking whether they were U.S. citizens.
The registrations were therefore processed despite the applicants indicating that they were not eligible to vote.
Fewer Than 400 Registrants Cast Ballots
Sherrill said fewer than 400 of the mistakenly registered individuals actually voted.
“We have no evidence at this time that any elections were swayed,” by the improperly cast ballots, she emphasized.
The 6,600 registrations represent approximately 0.1% of New Jersey’s roughly 6.9 million registered voters. The fewer than 400 people who cast ballots account for approximately 0.01% of the nearly 4 million people who voted in the state during the 2024 presidential election.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris defeated Republican candidate Trump in New Jersey by approximately six percentage points in that election.
Republicans Renew Push for Voter ID Bill
Republicans have seized on the disclosure to argue that Congress should quickly pass the SAVE America Act, legislation that would strengthen voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.
They contend that the New Jersey voter registration error demonstrates the need to require voters to provide identification and proof of U.S. citizenship.
During a national address on July 16, Trump said approximately 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote across the United States. He cited the figure while urging lawmakers to approve the legislation.
