The software company that NJ Governor Mikie Sherill was quick to blame for the registration of 6,600 noncitizens is contesting responsibility, immediately releasing a statement saying the state, not a technical glitch, was to blame.
Software vendor disputes NJ governor’s ‘glitch’ claim, says state approved foreigners on voter roll https://t.co/dYCVPWvVel
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) July 22, 2026
During a press conference yesterday, Sherill said that the registration was the fault of the software company. "A serious software error in New Jersey's Motor Vehicle System led to the improper voter registration of what we believe to be roughly 6,600 people in our state...In the case of this error, some individuals indicated that they weren't citizens and weren't eligible to vote, but the software registered them anyway."
Later that evening, IDEMIA, the software company, issued a statement in the New Jersey Globe, blaming NJ's Division of Elections and its Department of State, and saying the company acts more as a transmitter, not the final verifier.
"IDEMIA works with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and has for more than 40 years, to support the process through which eligible individuals may indicate their interest in registering to vote when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or state-issued identification card. IDEMIA’s role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system," the statement reads. "The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.”
Sherill's comments imply the software erroneously registered noncitizens, but according to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), IDEMIA's statement could track. The NVRA says that the ability to determine voter eligibility is ultimately assigned to state election officials. "For voter registration on driver's license applications and for state mail-in applications, a form may only request the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate registrations and enable state election officials to determine the eligibility of the applicant and administer voter registration laws," the law says.
Blame for the error can certainly be linked to both parties legally, New Jersey has a legal responsibility to administer registration and determine voter eligibility, but the vendor can also be at fault for its own software bugs. Ultimately, the state retains the legal responsibility for administering voter registration and determining voter eligibility, even if a vendor's software contributed to the error.
While there may be many parties involved at fault, the incident raises questions about similar situations occurring in other states where outside vendors are used. If nothing else, yesterday's events prove that voter fraud is occurring, with the Governor saying nearly 400 incorrectly registered individuals voted in recent elections. All government officials and elected representatives regardless of party affiliation should be working around the clock to secure the integrity of our elections and prohibit noncitizens from registering to vote.