How did 6,600 non-citizens stay on NJ voter rolls? State investigation begins
In November, 12 Congressional seats will be up for election, as will Sen. Cory Booker's post. There is a state investigation starting up under Gov. Mikie Sherrill's watch. Meanwhile, some Republicans want a full investigation by the state Legislature.
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The computer glitch that registered 6,600 non-citizens to vote in New Jersey is now under investigation as revealed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill. But many questions need to be answered before the next election in November.
Mail-in ballots go out in September, so there is a need to have the voter registration process corrected before the polls open. The breakdown has been linked to a computer glitch within the Motor Vehicle Commission and a vendor by the name of Idemia.
The issue allowed nearly 400 people to vote. It was discovered and then stopped in June of 2024. But it’s not yet clear why those 6,600 non-citizens weren’t removed from the voter rolls in 2024.
Rider University political analyst Micah Rasmussen weighed in on what he thinks of the investigation.
“What I think we need to do is understand where the breakdown occurred between [the MVC] and the software vendor, the state Division of Elections and the County Registration office," said Micah Rasmussen.
Some state Republicans are using this issue to call for the end of automatic voter registration and mail-in ballots.
RELATED: Gov. Sherrill says she won’t turn over voter registration info to DOJ
RELATED: Software error led to about 6,600 noncitizens being registered to vote in New Jersey
"Over the years, there have been repeated issues with Motor Vehicle [Commission] and the automatic registration. Whether it’s changing party affiliation or knocking somebody out that was already registered by re-registering them," said state Sen. Kristin Corrado, of Passaic.
Republican state Sen. Doug Steinhardt put out a statement saying, “Suspend no-excuse vote-by-mail until an independent forensic audit of New Jersey’s statewide voter rolls is completed and their accuracy is certified."
However, Rasmussen says hold on.
"It almost seems to be an excuse for everybody’s laundry list of whatever reforms they’re looking for. We don’t have anything to suggest at this moment in time that the vote-by-mail system was part of this problem," Rasmussen said.
While the state investigation starts, there’s also pressure from the White House. The Trump administration is aiming to prosecute those who voted illegally.
