Gov. Sherrill Pushes For Voting Registration Reform As New Errors Emerge

With the 2026 midterm elections roughly a month away, Gov. Mikie Sherrill is taking steps to prevent further errors in the state’s voting system. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Sherrill announced that the state’s voter-registration software, through the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), glitched and incorrectly registered 750 people as being underage and unable to vote, despite these individuals entering dates of birth that confirmed they were old enough to vote. Sherrill said no underage person voted as a result.

The review also found 340 “potentially improper voter-registration records” (records that contain potential inaccuracies or irregularities) from the MVC dating back to 2016, including 60 individuals who were found to be incarcerated, and thus ineligible to vote. 

Sherrill confirmed that neither system issue involved noncitizens. However, her administration found that both stemmed from the same system error discovered in July that registered 6,600 noncitizens as voters between June 2023 and June 2024.

“My Administration continues to move aggressively to fix the serious system error at the Motor Vehicle Commission left behind by the previous administration to ensure our elections remain free, fair, and secure. I promised we would be thorough to ensure that no one who is ineligible remains on the voter rolls, and that every eligible voter has their voice heard,” Sherrill said in a statement.

Technology vendor IDEMIA was identified as the culprit for this error. However, the company shared this statement with The Philadelphia Inquirer: 

“IDEMIA’s software accurately recorded applicants’ responses and operated according to state specifications. We do not determine eligibility or register voters. The MVC sends data to the Division of Elections, which is responsible for validating the information and determining voter eligibility.”

NJ’s latest system error prompted the Sherrill Administration to delete 380 voter registrations belonging to people who had not cast ballots. Another 50 people who registered themselves as too young to vote and later voted had their registrations deleted and referred to county officials for review. Meanwhile, 320 potentially valid registrations were also sent out for review.

“I said we were going to run a secure and fair election here in New Jersey and I meant it,” Sherrill said. “In just two and a half months, we conducted this review and are taking sweeping action to secure our voter registration processes and the integrity of our voter rolls, so that New Jerseyans can feel confident about their election system.”

After discovering ongoing glitches, Sherrill announced new safeguards to prevent further voter registration errors. These measures will include the MVC automatically checking new voter registrations against customers’ recorded responses at the end of each day before sending them to election officials.

The MVC will also be asked to report any anomalies flagged by daily audits, such as incomplete or inconsistent records, and make the registration process clearer and more accessible by adding multilingual signage and translation devices. Voters will also be required to answer a PIN pad prompt confirming that they aren’t currently incarcerated and serving a sentence for an indictable offense. 

As Sherrill plans to implement these safeguards, her administration continues to review state voter records to further understand and resolve these system errors.

“I promised New Jerseyans that we would get to the bottom of this issue and be transparent every step of the way. That is exactly what I will continue to do. Our investigation is ongoing, we will follow the facts wherever they lead, fix the problems we inherited, do it the right way, and hold those responsible accountable,” Sherrill said.