Trenton, New Jersey — Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew are escalating a partisan dispute over a software error that caused roughly 6,600 noncitizens to be improperly registered to vote in New Jersey.
Van Drew accused Sherrill Monday of turning legitimate congressional oversight into a “political hit piece” after she criticized him and 18 House Republicans who demanded documents and answers about the registration failure.
The error occurred between June 2023 and June 2024 through the Motor Vehicle Commission’s automatic voter-registration system. People who identified themselves as noncitizens were incorrectly coded as eligible voters. About 340 of the roughly 6,600 people later cast ballots, according to the state’s latest review.
Sherrill’s administration has removed 5,100 registrations and referred another 1,650 to county election officials for review. She has blamed contractor Idemia for the software failure while also criticizing the previous administration for not disclosing the problem sooner.
Republicans argue the episode demonstrates weaknesses in automatic voter registration. Sherrill counters that GOP lawmakers are using the error politically while seeking private voter information the state says should remain protected.
A federal judge recently rejected the Trump administration’s separate effort to obtain New Jersey’s unredacted voter database, ruling that federal law did not entitle the government to the information.
State officials say they have found no evidence that the registration error changed the outcome of any election.
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