NJ and NY Clash Over Responsibility for 6,600 Noncitizen Voter Registrations
A disputed software contract has placed state officials and a private vendor on opposite sides of a factual question that federal election integrity law may ultimately resolve.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) stated publicly on Tuesday, July 22, 2026, that a 'serious software error' in the state's Motor Vehicle System caused approximately 6,600 noncitizens to be added to New Jersey voter rolls, with roughly 400 of those individuals casting ballots, according to reporting by the New York Post. Sherrill attributed the error to IDEMIA, a French-headquartered technology company contracted by the state to manage components of the voter registration system tied to motor vehicle records.
IDEMIA disputed Sherrill's characterization in a statement reported by the New York Post on July 22, 2026. The company asserted that New Jersey state officials had access to data indicating the affected individuals were noncitizens and that local officials bore responsibility for approving the registrations. The Post reported IDEMIA's position as: 'the state had access to data showing that those individuals were' noncitizens at the time of registration. The specific contractual terms governing which party held final approval authority over registration decisions are not publicly available in the source material reviewed; the executed state contract with IDEMIA, obtainable via New Jersey's Office of the State Comptroller or public records request, would clarify that question.
In New York, Republican members of the state Assembly sent a letter — obtained by the New York Post — to Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration and state elections officials demanding a public hearing. The letter called for an examination of whether New York's voter rolls may have been exposed to the same 'vulnerabilities' present in New Jersey, according to the Post's July 22, 2026 report. New York's own use of IDEMIA or comparable motor-voter integration vendors has not been confirmed in the source material reviewed; the New York State Board of Elections' publicly filed vendor contracts would indicate whether IDEMIA or a related entity operates in the state.
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. § 20505) requires states to offer voter registration through motor vehicle agencies but does not specify how states must verify citizenship status at the point of registration. Federal law under 52 U.S.C. § 10307 prohibits noncitizen voting in federal elections. Whether any federal investigation has been opened into the New Jersey registrations is unknown; a formal inquiry by the Department of Justice's Election Crimes Branch would appear on the department's public docket if one were initiated.
Key factual questions remain unresolved as of July 22, 2026: the full text of New Jersey's contract with IDEMIA, including which party held final data-verification responsibility; whether any of the approximately 400 ballots cast by noncitizens affected a federal race outcome; and whether New York or other states using the same motor-voter software vendor experienced comparable registration anomalies. New Jersey's Division of Elections procurement records and IDEMIA's Lobbying Disclosure Act filings — searchable at lda.senate.gov — would provide additional context on the vendor's relationships with state and federal officials.