New Jersey has begun purging 4,500 noncitizens from its voter rolls after a software error led to their accidental registration, Governor Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday. Additionally, 2,000 more registrations will be reviewed by county officials to confirm citizenship status. The error occurred between June 2023 and June 2024 under former Governor Phil Murphy’s administration, with fewer than 400 of the affected individuals casting ballots.
Sherrill also rejected a federal request for the names and data of those improperly registered, citing privacy concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had demanded the information as part of an investigation into election integrity, arguing that New Jersey has a legal duty to remove ineligible voters. The DOJ stated it would obtain the data through other legal means if necessary.
The controversy has intensified debates over election security and the reliability of automatic voter registration systems. Critics, including Republicans, question why the French technology company IDEMIA—blamed for the error—still holds other multimillion-dollar contracts with the state, including for fingerprinting and background checks. IDEMIA disputes Sherrill’s account of the error.
Nationally, President Donald Trump’s administration has highlighted the issue, citing a preliminary review that found 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote across the U.S., with 250,000 in four Democrat-led states. The Department of Homeland Security also identified 400,000 deceased individuals still on voter rolls. Experts argue that automatic registration systems, particularly in motor-vehicle agencies, are prone to such errors.
The situation has sparked calls for bipartisan investigations and reforms to voter registration processes.