Sherrill: 'I am Ensuring We Protect Our Elections'
TRENTON - You can register to vote at the local Motor Vehicle Commission office. So, ever since non-citizens have had the right to driver's licenses in New Jersey, critics have said that could lead to non-citizens voting.
That's precisely what happened.
Mikie Sherrill said Tuesday that about 6,600 non-citizens were registered to vote through the MVC between June, 2023 and June, 2024. Less than 400 of them actually voted, which the governor said was probably not enough to sway any election. After all, even 400 voters spread across the whole state is not a lot of voters.
That, of course, is not the point.
Donald Trump has questioned election integrity as far back as 2016 when he said he would only accept the results if he won. He has not admitted his loss in 2020 and just last week, he spoke about alleged Chinese interference in elections.
With that backdrop, any election problem in a Democratic-run state like New Jersey is a big deal - politically.
Sherrill is trying to get out in front of it. She said she learned about it last Wednesday and publicized it at a press conference today.
This is something that happened when Phil Murphy was governor.
Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, who as secretary of state oversees elections, stressed that it is the state's job to make sure elections are run safely and legally.
"Some people in the previous administration failed to protect that responsibility," he said, which was a definite swipe at Murphy.
Sherrill said an investigation already is underway and that any MVC employees involved in the error would be held accountable. She said the following in a statement:
“Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers' licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway."
The results of the investigation will be made public.
An immediate task, she said, is removing the non-citizens from the rolls.
How about those who voted? Sherrill said they were registered as Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated.
Will they be prosecuted?
Not by the state. Sherrill said that would be pretty "hypocritical," because it was the state that messed up.
The governor knows that Trump and doubtless Republicans in New Jersey will find much political ammunition here.
Which is why her statement included criticism of Trump, who she said has "zero credibility" on election matters. Even less than Vladimir Putin, she claimed.
That said, this is an embarrassing development for the state.
Sherrill, who attributed the error to "reckless failures," is certainly right to stress that all this happened before she became governor.
But it's now her obligation to make sure it does not happen again.
Statement by Governor Mikie Sherrill |
| “Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers' licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway.
“This happened under the previous administration and, upon learning this information, I immediately ordered my chief counsel to launch an investigation to get to the bottom of what occurred. I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024. The new MVC Administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system. “Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted. They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state. “I want to underscore how seriously I take this matter. As a military veteran who swore an oath to defend our Constitution, and as a former federal prosecutor, I believe the integrity of our elections is fundamental to our democracy. I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time. This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now. I am taking action to prevent anything like it from occurring in the future and make sure those responsible are held accountable. “As the Trump Administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections. Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity. For more than ten years, he has worked to undermine Americans' faith in our elections by spreading lies about legitimate election results, attempting to overturn a free and fair election, encouraging an attack on our Capitol when he couldn't accept the will of the voters, and defunding election security at the federal level. “The difference is simple: when we find a problem, we don't hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies. We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public. That's what accountability and good governance look like, and that's exactly what my administration is doing. “New Jerseyans should have confidence that every eligible citizen can vote, every lawful vote will be counted, and every reasonable step will be taken to protect the integrity of our elections. That's my responsibility, and it's one I will never stop fighting to uphold.” |
