NJ removes over 5,000 from voter rolls after error
Sherrill says officials' review was done 'swiftly'
By: Amanda Wallace
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... More than 5,000 individuals have been removed from New Jersey voter rolls as the Sherrill administration works to correct a software flaw that registered thousands of non-U. S. citizens to vote in the state in 2023 and 2024.
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Governor Mikie Sherrill announced on July 21 [2026] that as many as 6,600 non-U. S. citizens resisted to vote in New Jersey in 2023 and 2024, years before she took office, as a result of a software error. Sherrill said non-citizens involved had answered "not" while applying for their driver's licenses and identification cards with the Motor Vehicle Commission but were resisted to vote anyway.
..... Since then, Sherrill said, her administration has "moved swiftly" to review records and identify affected individuals.
..... The Statewide Voter Registration system was briefly taken off-line so the Division of Elections could copy and preserve the system and then modify the status of individuals affected by the error, Sherrill said in an August 19 [2026] news release.
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As a result, about 5,100 registered individuals have been placed in "deleted status" in the system and removed from the voter rolls, having been registered only because of the system flaw.
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An additional 1,450 resistered individuals have had their registrations status changed to "rejected" to prevent them from voting pending additional review by county election officials.
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The release said they are individuals who were affected by the error but have "separate vote registrations, attestations, or transactions in the system, such that further review is required to determine whether these individuals are eligible and should be registered."
..... About 340 of those newly registered as a result of the system error voted reported the governor, who previously said those individuals were registered as Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters in all parts of the state.
..... The state also identified about 220 individuals who were affected by the software error and voted, but who also had previous voter registrations or separate attestations to eligibility that are indicative of valid registration. That group will be referred to county officials for review to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised.
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All remaining record changes and removals will occur at the county level, Sherrill said.
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"My administration has continued to move aggressively to fix the error at the Motor Vehicle Commission under the previous administration, to correct our voter rolls, and to protect the voting rights of eligible New Jerseyans," Sherrill said in the release.
..... "I said we would conduct a through, complete, and fair investigation, and that is exactly what we are doing. Because that is what accountable government looks like. My commitment to the people of New Jersey
is to confront this issue with the urgency it deserves, so we have strong and fair elections."
..... Sherrill continue, "this stands in contrast to the Trump administration and Republicans, whose only interest has been in trying to use this issue for [political gain."
..... In a post on X on Wednesday [08/19/2026] afternoon, New Jersey Senate Republicans said they "raised concerns about Democrats' automatic voter registration implementation at MVC years ago."
..... "A bipartisan legislative committee with subpoena with must convene to hold those responsible accountable and protect the integrity of our elections," the post said.
..... The state's investigation into how the error occurred is continuing.