Governor Sherrill Provides Update on MVC Issue, Announces Reforms to Agency’s Voter Registration Processes  

My Administration continues to move aggressively to fix the serious system error at the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) left behind by the previous administration to ensure our elections remain free, fair, and secure. I promised we would be thorough to ensure that no one who is ineligible remains on the voter rolls, and that every eligible voter has their voice heard.

Leaving no stone unturned, I directed my Administration to conduct a thorough review of all voter-registration processes at the MVC and implement reforms to strengthen those processes.

This review surfaced two issues. Neither issue involved noncitizens.

The review identified approximately 750 additional records affected by the IDEMIA system error from June 2023 to June 2024 that require further action. These individuals selected “no” on the age-eligibility prompt, but their records were sent through for registration. These individuals’ dates of birth confirm they were old enough to vote, and no underage person voted as a result of this error. They appear to have pressed the wrong button on the PIN pad by mistake.

Additionally, the review identified approximately 340 potentially improper voter-registration records from the MVC re-entry events dating back to 2016.

The review showed that this issue had gone undetected and unaddressed, with some going as far back as a decade. My Administration found them and moved immediately to fix them.

I directed the MVC to take the necessary steps to strengthen our registration processes and enact stronger safeguards. In addition to transitioning to a new vendor, the MVC is in the process of implementing agency-wide reforms, with many already completed, that add new layers of review and quality control to the voter-registration process. These include:

• Deploying an automated audit process that verifies voter-registration records against customers’ recorded responses at the end of each day before being transmitted to DOE.
• Creating an escalation and remediation plan so that any anomaly flagged by the daily audit is reported to MVC leadership and tracked through investigation and correction.
• Adding clear signage in MVC Mobile Units for Department of Corrections (DOC) re-entry events to ensure individuals understand voter-eligibility requirements.
• Making the registration process clearer and more accessible, through expanded language and translation assistance and clearer explanations of voter-eligibility requirements.
• Developing a PIN pad prompt at re-entry events where individuals seeking to register must confirm they are not currently incarcerated for an indictable offense, to prevent similar errors found in our review.

I said we were going to run a secure and fair election here in New Jersey and I meant it. In just two and a half months, we conducted this review and are taking sweeping action to secure our voter registration processes and the integrity of our voter rolls, so that New Jerseyans can feel confident about their election system. This stands in stark contrast to Trump, who has been complaining about this issue for the last ten years and done nothing to fix it, while doing everything in his power to make voting less safe and suppress votes.

I promised New Jerseyans that we would get to the bottom of this issue and be transparent every step of the way. That is exactly what I will continue to do. Our investigation is ongoing, we will follow the facts wherever they lead, fix the problems we inherited, do it the right way, and hold those responsible accountable.

Full Summary of Updates Below:

Additional Record Review

At Governor Sherrill’s direction, the Administration conducted a thorough review beyond the original citizenship-related software error to examine MVC voter-registration processes more broadly. That review identified two additional categories of records requiring correction or further review.

No to Eligible Age Registrants

The review identified additional records affected by the IDEMIA software error during the previous administration from June 2023 to June 2024 that require further action. These individuals answered “no” to the age-eligibility question, but were sent over for registration due to the same error. However, since they also provided their date of birth in the same transaction, they were age-eligible, but their registrations were not legally valid. Additionally, the review also found that many of these individuals were well above voting age and likely pressed the incorrect button on the pin pad by mistake. Out of an abundance of caution, the state is remediating these records and has provided instructions to those affected on next steps.

• Approximately 380 had no other registrations, did not vote, and are being placed in deleted status.
• Approximately 320 have other potentially valid registrations, voted, and are being referred to counties for review.
• Approximately 50 were registered solely as the result of the error and voted. These records are being placed in deleted status and being referred to the counties for review.

MVC Re-Entry Events for Incarcerated Individuals

The review identified approximately 340 potentially improperly processed voter-registration records from MVC re-entry events dating back to 2016. Our review found that some individuals incorrectly attested to eligibility even though they were “currently serving a sentence of incarceration for an indictable offense.” All records requiring further action are being referred to county election officials for remediation.

• Approximately 340 individuals were improperly registered at the time and require individual review to determine whether deletion is appropriate.
• Separately, approximately 60 individuals were identified as currently incarcerated. The counties have a routine list maintenance process that identifies and flags currently incarcerated individuals for deletion. These names are being sent to the counties for remediation.

New MVC Reforms and Safeguard Measures Implemented

At Governor Sherrill’s direction, the MVC is implementing several reforms, with many completed, to strengthen its role in the voter-registration process and prevent similar errors.

Daily Pre-Transfer Audit

The MVC is implementing a new daily audit system that:

• Verifies every voter-registration record by comparing the information stored in MVC’s database with records prepared for processing by the technology vendor.
• Confirms that each record accurately reflects the customer’s responses, including citizenship status, age, and whether the customer chose to register to vote.
• Automatically flags incomplete or inconsistent records for manual review by MVC staff and notifications to MVC leadership before they can be transferred.
• Prevents records with missing or conflicting information from being transmitted, ensuring that only complete, verified, and consistent records move forward.
• Allows corrected records to be transmitted only after staff review confirms they are fully supported by the customer’s recorded responses.
• Has an escalation and remediation plan so that any anomaly flagged by the daily audit is reported to MVC leadership and tracked through investigation and correction.

Clearer, More Accessible Registration Process

The MVC is also implementing several customer-facing improvements to make voter-registration questions clearer and more accessible. These improvements include:

• Expanding the complete set of voter-registration questions to five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and Simplified Chinese.
• Adding multilingual signage and handheld translation devices supporting more than 80 languages at every MVC agency, helping customers understand and respond to each question in their preferred language.
• Updating MVC’s online driver license and identification card renewal pages to clearly state voter-eligibility requirements, explain how customers’ information will be used, and provide a clear choice to continue or decline voter registration.
• Ensuring content on MVC’s website can be translated on supported browsers.
• Developing a PIN pad prompt where individuals seeking to register must confirm they are not currently incarcerated for an indictable offense, to prevent similar errors found in our review.