TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s voter registration mess just got bigger.
A new review of Motor Vehicle Commission records has uncovered about 1,090 additional voter registrations that need to be corrected or investigated, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Wednesday.
But Sherrill stressed one key point: none of the newly identified cases involved noncitizens.
The new findings fall into two groups.
About 750 people were processed for voter registration even though they answered “no” to a question asking whether they were old enough to vote. The state says their birth dates show they were actually old enough and that many likely hit the wrong button on the MVC keypad.
The state said no underage person voted because of that software error.
Still, the registrations are considered legally invalid and are being removed or sent to county election officials for review.
About 50 people were registered only because of the faulty process and later voted. Their registrations are being deleted and their records sent to counties for review.
Another roughly 320 people voted but have separate registrations that may be valid, leaving counties to determine their status. About 380 others did not vote and had no other registrations.
The review also found about 340 potentially improper registrations connected to MVC prison re-entry events dating back to 2016.
The state says some people at those events attested that they were eligible to vote even though they were serving sentences for indictable offenses. Those records will now be reviewed individually.
Separately, about 60 people currently incarcerated were identified and referred to counties through the state's existing voter-roll maintenance process.
Sherrill said the review was completed in about two and a half months and announced new safeguards, including daily audits of MVC voter-registration records before they are sent to election officials.
The MVC is also replacing its technology vendor and adding clearer eligibility questions, more language assistance and additional safeguards at prison re-entry events.
“The review showed that this issue had gone undetected and unaddressed, with some going as far back as a decade,” Sherrill said. “My Administration found them and moved immediately to fix them.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
