Gov. Mikie sherrill admits: thousands of illegals registered to vote in new jersey

Gov. Mikie Sherrill Admits: Thousands of Illegals Registered to Vote in New Jersey

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2 mins read
July 21, 2026
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said a software error in New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission system mistakenly registered about 6,600 people who identified themselves as non-U.S. citizens, prompting an investigation and voter roll review.

Trenton, NJ – Thousands of illegal migrants were registered to vote in New Jersey, and today Governor Mikie Sherrill finally admitted what many Republicans have been saying for years. Since taking office she maintained that illegal aliens were not being registered to vote in the Garden State.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, today, she conceded.

It’s true.

The admission comes after President Donald J. Trump announced an investigation into states like New Jersey who have been accused of allowing illegal migrants to register to vote.

1:04 pm: NJ GOP Assembly Delegation Tweets:

1:05 pm: NJ GOP issues following statement:

State Democrats called our Election Integrity Task Force “wholly fabricated.” A “witch hunt.” “Fearmongering.” An “election interference task force.”

Convenient labels for covering up their own failures.

We knew better, and we refused to be bullied on an issue this fundamental to our democracy.

Today the State admitted 6,600 non-citizens were on New Jersey’s voter rolls. We invite the Governor to join us on the right side of this.

The work isn’t finished. The public deserves to know which elections were affected, whether any outcome was changed, and whether more remain on the rolls today.

And this “software glitch” isn’t the only problem. New Jersey deserves a real number — and a real explanation of what the so-called fix actually is.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday that a software error in the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) voter registration system resulted in approximately 6,600 people who indicated they were not U.S. citizens being mistakenly registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024.

In a public statement posted on social media, Sherrill said the issue occurred nearly three years before she took office and blamed the error on the previous administration’s MVC system. She said the affected individuals answered “no” when asked on an electronic keypad whether they were U.S. citizens while applying for driver’s licenses or state identification cards, but were registered to vote anyway.

1:08 pm update: NJ State Senator Michael Testa calls for end to automatic voter registration at MVC:

.

@GovSherrillNJ just admitted that 6,600 non-citizens were automatically registered to vote from 2023 to 2024. To protect the sanctity of our elections, we must end automatic voter registration at every MVC immediately.

Investigation ordered after discovery

Sherrill said she immediately directed her chief counsel to launch an investigation after learning of the issue and ordered election officials to remove anyone who had been erroneously added to New Jersey’s voter rolls during the affected period.

“The new MVC Administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system,” Sherrill said.

According to the governor, a preliminary review found that fewer than 400 of the affected individuals who had never previously been registered to vote actually cast ballots. She said those voters were registered as Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters and were located throughout the state.

Governor blames software failure, previous administration

Sherrill described the situation as a “serious software error” and said those who were mistakenly registered were not responsible for the mistake.

“I want to underscore how seriously I take this matter,” Sherrill said. “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.”

She added that she was “appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” while emphasizing that “this failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now.”

Trump referenced in statement

Sherrill also criticized former President Donald Trump while discussing election integrity, arguing that her administration is addressing the problem openly rather than concealing it.

“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,” Sherrill said.

The governor concluded by saying New Jersey residents “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.”

The governor’s statement did not identify the software vendor involved or specify whether any criminal or administrative investigations into the error have been launched beyond the internal review. The findings described by Sherrill were presented as a preliminary analysis, and additional details could be released as the investigation continues.

Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

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