BS BRIEF:
- New Jersey’s voter registration controversy deepened Wednesday after software vendor IDEMIA disputed Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s claim that a software glitch alone caused roughly 6,600 noncitizens to be registered to vote, saying the state received records that correctly identified applicants as noncitizens.
- The U.S. Department of Justice has demanded detailed records from New Jersey, including information about the affected registrations, as part of a broader investigation into the incident and related litigation over voter-roll access.
- The disagreement has shifted from whether the registrations occurred—they did—to who bears responsibility for allowing them onto the voter rolls and whether existing safeguards were adequate.
SOFTWARE VENDOR PUSHES BACK AFTER NEW JERSEY BLAMES ‘GLITCH’ FOR 6,600 ERRONEOUS VOTER REGISTRATIONS
The dispute over New Jersey’s mistaken registration of roughly 6,600 noncitizens to vote took a new turn Wednesday as the technology company blamed by state officials said its software functioned exactly as designed—and suggested the state approved the registrations despite receiving accurate information.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced earlier this week that approximately 6,600 people who indicated they were not U.S. citizens while applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards were nevertheless registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024. A preliminary review found that fewer than 400 later cast ballots.
Sherrill attributed the problem to what she called a “serious software error” involving the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s voter-registration system and announced that the state had hired an outside investigator while moving to phase out the software.
But IDEMIA, the French technology company that developed the system, sharply disputed that characterization.
According to company spokesperson Lisa Shoemaker:
“The 6,600 records submitted to the MVC and Division of Elections contained correct information according to the design specifications as set out by the state.”
She added:
“All 6,600 individuals indicated ‘Yes’ to wanting to register to vote and ‘NO’ to being a U.S. Citizen.”
The company further stated:
“At no point was a noncitizen ever marked as a citizen in the database.”
If IDEMIA’s account is accurate, the company argues, the information identifying applicants as noncitizens was available to state officials before the registrations were approved.
New Jersey officials reject that conclusion.
A state official told multiple news outlets that records reflecting a “no” answer to the citizenship question should never have been transmitted to election officials in the first place, maintaining that the software malfunction—not state review—caused the registrations.
The dispute comes as the U.S. Department of Justice has formally requested records identifying the affected registrations and voting history. The DOJ is also citing the New Jersey incident in ongoing litigation seeking broader access to the state’s voter-registration data.
Meanwhile, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) has called for a government-wide review of IDEMIA’s federal contracts, arguing the company should face additional scrutiny if its technology contributed to the registration failures.
While state officials have said they have found no evidence that the erroneous registrations changed the outcome of any election, the incident has renewed debate over voter-registration safeguards and quality-control procedures within automatic registration systems.
MY TAKE…
Whatever investigators ultimately conclude, one thing is already clear: somebody’s explanation doesn’t match somebody else’s.
The governor says a software failure caused the problem. The software company says it accurately transmitted records identifying applicants as noncitizens and that the state had the information needed to stop the registrations.
Those are not minor differences—they go to the heart of who is accountable.
The investigation should answer straightforward questions: What information was available? When was it available? Who reviewed it? And what safeguards failed?
Public confidence in elections depends not only on accurate voter rolls but also on transparent explanations when mistakes occur. If multiple layers of review broke down, the public deserves to know where—and why.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- New York Post – Software vendor says NJ knew 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote — and approved them anyway
- Reuters – Trump administration seizes on New Jersey voting error to demand noncitizen data
- New Jersey Monitor – NJ governor says 6K non-citizens were registered to vote, 400 voted thanks to ‘software error’
- ABC News – New Jersey accidentally registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote, governor says
- NOTUS – Software Vendor Denies Responsibility for New Jersey Voter-Registration Error
