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New Jersey Governor Confesses: Thousands of Illegal Aliens are Registered to Vote in NJ
Jul 21, 2026
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.
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0:19
Good. Good afternoon. I'm joined today
0:22
by Lieutenant Governor Caldwell, acting
0:25
chair and chief administrator of the
0:27
Motor Vehicle Commission, Rosley
0:29
Johnson.
0:31
When I came into office six months ago,
0:34
I promised New Jerseyians that my
0:36
administration would be different. We'd
0:39
be open, we'd be direct, and we'd have a
0:42
culture of accountability in this state.
0:46
In keeping with my commitment, we are
0:47
here to share information I learned of a
0:50
few days ago.
0:52
In June of 2023, nearly three years
0:56
before I became governor, a serious
0:58
software error in New Jersey's motor
1:01
vehicle system led to the improper voter
1:04
registration of what we believe to be
1:06
roughly 6600 people in our state. When
1:11
New Jerseyians applied for a driver's
1:14
license or identification at the MVC,
1:17
they were asked if they wanted to
1:19
register to vote. In the case of this
1:22
error, some individuals indicated that
1:25
they weren't citizens and weren't
1:28
eligible to vote, but the software
1:30
registered them anyway. The error in the
1:33
software was corrected a year later in
1:36
June of 2024. That is more than two
1:39
years ago.
1:41
I learned of this last Wednesday and I
1:43
immediately ordered my chief counsel to
1:46
launch a comprehensive investigation.
1:49
Currently, the Division of Elections is
1:51
working to ensure anyone who is
1:54
illegally registered is removed from the
1:57
voter roles. Initial analysis shows that
2:00
fewer than 400 newly registered
2:03
individuals voted in an election due to
2:07
this software error. They were
2:09
registered as Democrats, Republicans,
2:12
and the majority unaffiliated and were
2:15
scattered across the state. But let me
2:17
be clear, this entire situation is
2:20
unacceptable. It's unacceptable that the
2:23
vendor released software with such a
2:25
glaring error. It's unacceptable that
2:27
the MVC took a year to get this issue
2:30
fixed. And it's unacceptable that no one
2:33
in the previous administration brought
2:35
this to light, demanded accountability,
2:38
or took action when it happened years
2:40
ago. For too long, the Trenton playbook
2:44
has been to avoid tackling and solving
2:46
tough problems. New Jersey is better
2:48
than that. And I am working to create a
2:51
different culture, one where we are both
2:53
effective and transparent. This failure
2:56
didn't occur under my watch, but
2:58
accountability starts now because the
3:01
people of New Jersey shouldn't have to
3:02
wait a year for a problem to get solved
3:05
or two years to learn it even happened.
3:08
I'm taking immediate action to make sure
3:11
something like this doesn't happen
3:12
again. Administrator Johnson has already
3:15
started the process to replace the
3:17
vendor behind the error. We're sending
3:19
letters to the people impacted by this
3:21
error and we will remove anyone from the
3:24
voter roles who may have improperly
3:26
registered and my team is taking a hard
3:29
look at the process failures that
3:31
occurred under the previous
3:33
administration and the guard rails we
3:36
can put down for the future. On day one,
3:39
I appointed our state's first ever chief
3:41
operating officer to take on the
3:43
bureaucracy and brokenness within state
3:46
government. She and her team are focused
3:48
on fixing the fundamentals so it doesn't
3:50
take a year to find a software error and
3:52
fix it because New Jerseyians deserve
3:54
accountable government. I know how
3:56
important public services and I've
3:58
worked to serve this country most of my
4:01
life. I've taken several oaths to
4:03
support and defend our Constitution as a
4:05
Navy pilot, a federal prosecutor, and an
4:08
elected official. Election integrity is
4:11
core to that oath. It's my duty as
4:14
governor to make sure our elections are
4:16
free, fair, and secure. In the months
4:19
ahead, I'll keep working with our
4:21
election officials, local, county, and
4:23
state, to do just that. As the Trump
4:26
administration tries to weaponize
4:28
elections for political gain, I am
4:32
ensuring that we protect our elections.
4:34
Let me be clear, Donald Trump has zero
4:37
credibility on the issue of election
4:39
integrity. For the past 10 years, he's
4:42
cried wolf and pedled bizarre conspiracy
4:45
theories about fraud with no evidence. I
4:48
saw the consequences of Trump's lies on
4:50
January 6th. I was in the capital when
4:53
he and his followers tried to steal the
4:55
election and put the lives of hundreds
4:57
of members of our law enforcement at
4:59
risk. Trump could care less about the
5:02
actual integrity of the process. His
5:03
only concern is himself. Right now, his
5:06
administration is defunding federal
5:08
election security programs, while he's
5:10
handpicked Supreme Court, threatens
5:12
voting rights at every turn. He spent
5:15
the past year redrawing the map to win
5:17
his party more seats in Congress, all
5:20
while pushing the biggest voter
5:22
suppression bill in history. The
5:25
difference between my administration and
5:27
this White House is stark. We don't
5:29
deflect, deny, or exploit problems for
5:33
our own gain. We find them and we fix
5:35
them because that's what a good
5:37
accountable government should do. And we
5:40
will keep working every single day to
5:42
make sure every eligible citizen can
5:45
vote, every lawful vote is counted, and
5:48
every step possible is taken to
5:50
safeguard our elections. With that, I'll
5:53
hand things over to our state's top
5:55
election official, Lieutenant Governor
5:57
Caldwell.
5:59
Oops. Thank you.
6:02
Thank you, Governor.
6:04
I'll leave it to MVC Administrator
6:06
Johnson, whom you'll hear from in a
6:08
moment to provide more information, but
6:11
I I want to speak uh to New Jersey's
6:13
efforts to protect election integrity.
6:15
My responsibility is to ensure New
6:17
Jersey's elections are conducted fairly,
6:21
freely, and with integrity so the people
6:23
of New Jersey remain confident in the
6:26
democratic process. We've just recently
6:28
learned some people in the previous
6:30
administration failed to protect that
6:33
responsibility. We can't change that,
6:35
but it's on us to understand what went
6:37
wrong and fix it for the future. We're
6:40
actively working to ensure that no
6:43
ineligible voters are left on the rolls.
6:46
The focus of this administration has
6:48
always been ardently protecting and
6:51
defending New Jersey's elections and the
6:53
eligible voters participating in them.
6:56
As Secretary of State, I remain in close
6:59
contact with county and local election
7:01
officials as we continue to prepare for
7:03
the 2026 general election. Here in New
7:07
Jersey, we will make sure that every
7:09
eligible voter can cast a ballot and
7:12
only eligible voters. We will safeguard
7:15
your votes and we will maintain your
7:17
confidence. We will keep the public
7:20
updated as we learn more and we'll
7:22
remain dedicated to operating
7:24
transparently. That's what New Jersey
7:26
voters deserve. With that, I'll hand
7:28
this over to my colleague, MVC Chair and
7:31
Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson.
7:37
>> Good afternoon. Thank you, Governor
7:39
Cheryl and Lieutenant Governor Caldwell.
7:42
As the governor said earlier, our entire
7:44
administration takes this issue
7:47
extremely seriously. The failure to be
7:49
transparent in 2024 is simply
7:52
unacceptable.
7:54
I don't need to tell any of you that MVC
7:56
has experienced deficiencies in previous
7:59
years, long wait times, endless
8:02
bureaucracy.
8:03
When I was appointed, we promise to
8:06
reform and modernize the MVC. We have
8:08
already worked to implement changes to
8:10
improve the MVC experience for all New
8:13
Jersey residents. We have been able to
8:16
substantially reduce the Real ID
8:18
appointment backlog, made thousands of
8:21
Real ID transactions one visit instead
8:23
of two, and increase the usage of
8:26
self-service online for New Jersey
8:28
residents.
8:30
But that's not what we're here about
8:32
today. In regards to the system error
8:35
MVC experienced in 23 and 24, we are
8:39
actively working with a new vendor to
8:41
ensure this type of technical
8:42
malfunction does not happen in the
8:44
future and expect to launch with the new
8:47
vendor next year. In addition, I am
8:50
working now today to create additional
8:54
safeguards that will be reviewing this
8:56
data that we send over to Division of
8:59
Elections on a regular basis to check
9:01
for any system errors.
9:04
In my role as administrator, I will be
9:07
doing everything in my power to ensure
9:08
that this simply does not happen. I know
9:12
that MVC has work to do to rebuild
9:14
trust. I know that we need to restore
9:16
New Jerseyians faith in our operations
9:19
and demonstrate continuous improvement.
9:22
In my first six months, we have worked
9:24
to improve our safeguards, modernize our
9:26
operations, and create a 21st century
9:28
experience for all New Jerseyians
9:30
whenever they interact with the MVC.
9:34
That effort is ongoing and this is a
9:36
reminder of what myself and my team are
9:38
focused on which is making positive
9:40
changes and creating an MVC that is
9:43
resilient and capable of delivering
9:45
services securely and efficiently for
9:47
the people in New Jersey. Ensuring that
9:50
registration to vote is efficient and
9:53
secure is an essential part of that
9:55
effort and under my leadership MVC will
9:57
be laser focused on that goal. Thank you
10:01
all for being here today and I think
10:02
we're going to take a few questions.
10:06
>> Governor, I'm sorry. Excuse me.
10:11
>> Which elections were they did this
10:13
include? Was it presidential in 2024
10:16
that involved your election?
10:19
>> This uh happened between the it started
10:23
in 2023. It was cut um and stopped in
10:26
2024. However, we are now actively
10:30
working to remove those less than 400
10:32
voters from the roles. So, um
10:34
potentially uh this could have uh
10:37
occurred they could have occurred in any
10:39
election since the time they were
10:40
registered.
10:42
>> Specific numbers or like which elections
10:45
which of those 400 voted?
10:46
>> We've launched an investigation. We
10:48
should have more information.
10:49
>> Governor, will the outcome of that
10:51
investigation be public?
10:53
>> Um we I will be presenting the findings
10:55
of that investigation. Did any of those
10:57
400 voters sway the impact of any
11:00
individual election uh potentially on
11:03
local level?
11:05
>> We have no evidence at this time that
11:08
any elections were swayed. Governor, can
11:11
I ask about the uh the allegation from
11:15
human uh homeland security is that New
11:19
Jersey has about 35,000
11:22
noncitizens on the border rolls. What
11:24
about the remaining 29,000? Can you give
11:26
us any indication of whether you
11:30
researched that or whether that's a
11:33
hooked up number or are you
11:34
investigating it currently?
11:37
>> These uh two things seem to be
11:39
unrelated. So last Wednesday was when I
11:42
first heard about this. I immediately
11:44
launched an investigation. Um and this
11:46
is what we've uncovered so far and the
11:48
investigation continues. We received a a
11:52
letter um after Trump's speech that
11:55
there were um this 35,000
12:00
from DHS potentially. So we have asked
12:02
them for any evidence of this what where
12:04
they got that number, who this is. Uh
12:07
we've received nothing back yet. Do you
12:08
feel that that is part of a plan to set
12:12
the stage for accusations of voter fraud
12:14
here in New Jersey?
12:18
>> I I I think that Donald Trump has done
12:22
more to undermine free elections in this
12:24
country um than certainly anyone in my
12:27
lifetime, including Vladimir Putin. So
12:30
certainly this is ongoing. He has
12:32
questioned called into question the 2020
12:34
election which let's recall his
12:36
administration ran and had every tool uh
12:38
available to the federal government to
12:40
run well. I guess they did not according
12:42
to him. Um he then when we were
12:45
certifying the election sent an
12:46
insurrection over to stop the
12:48
certification of the election. He has
12:50
defunded at every turn agencies that are
12:53
responsible for protecting our election
12:56
and he continues to put out
12:57
misinformation. So, do I think that the
12:59
latest round uh that he has put out is
13:02
in some way an attempt to undermine our
13:04
elections in this country? Yes, I do.
13:06
>> Including the accusation about
13:08
>> I think he has ongoing misinformation
13:10
that he puts out. He knows that if he
13:14
provides us any credible information, we
13:16
will of course investigate it as we do
13:17
with every piece of invest information
13:19
that we have.
13:20
>> Governor, you said you'll be looking at
13:23
additional guard rails. What are you
13:26
open to considering for new guard rails?
13:30
And could that include any additional
13:32
requirements on voters when they show
13:34
up?
13:36
>> I think we're open to um suggestions
13:39
that make our elections more safe and so
13:41
that's part of what this investigation.
13:43
They'll have findings on just what
13:44
occurred and um we will be looking
13:47
carefully at what we can do to make sure
13:48
it doesn't occur again. Uh so as of now
13:52
we are launching an investigation. We
13:54
will be holding I will be holding people
13:57
accountable. Um we are here today
14:00
because this will be transparent. We
14:02
will be presenting our findings. That's
14:04
why I'm holding a press conference so
14:05
that we're not hiding this. We are going
14:08
to be very accountable about it. We've
14:10
already alerted or working to alert
14:12
actually that letter will be going out
14:14
shortly to alert people that they um uh
14:18
they might be improperly registered and
14:20
then we are working to remove them from
14:23
the voter roles. Um and then as far as
14:26
the um systems and guard rails uh you
14:30
know already we've been looking at how
14:32
we can continue to provide the most
14:35
secure election possible. Our innovation
14:37
author authority is providing uh the pin
14:39
pad and they will be providing it in
14:42
five different languages. Now it's only
14:43
in English to make sure there's no
14:44
confusion. So we will be looking at
14:46
different possibilities of making our
14:48
elections more secure going forward.
14:50
>> There was an issue with
14:53
no
14:54
>> in this case. No, you're correct. You're
14:56
correct. But we want to keep making sure
14:58
that nobody uh has trouble registering
15:00
or there are any inaccuracies.
15:03
>> Governor, do you think that um
15:07
laws for examples
15:12
or
15:15
driver lices to certain you think that's
15:17
something that needs to be as part of
15:18
this or do you
15:21
>> I see no reason why our state cannot run
15:25
an election system well and have a
15:27
computer program that can operate well.
15:29
Um, and should any mal should any
15:33
problem occur, it should be cut quickly.
15:37
This is just to me not a problem with
15:40
some of our laws. It's a problem with
15:42
accountability. It's a problem with
15:44
making sure government is effective and
15:46
running well. And it is really a lack of
15:48
responsibility.
15:50
>> What are the agencies that are involved
15:52
in the investigation? When do you expect
15:54
those to be done? And are there what are
15:57
you looking for? Do you think that any
16:00
criminal offends here.
16:02
>> We have um hired an independent firm CSG
16:06
to conduct this investigation. We have
16:09
asked them to do so with all possible
16:11
haste and they've been already uh
16:13
working um to some of the numbers I told
16:15
you today, the 6,600, the less than 400.
16:18
These are some of the things they've
16:19
quickly um gotten together so that we
16:21
had an understanding of the scope here
16:23
and what we were dealing with. Um, but
16:25
we want to make sure that all ineligible
16:27
voters are off the rolls before our next
16:29
election. Um, so we've asked them to
16:32
move very quickly. We don't have a
16:33
timetable. I I don't want to sacrifice
16:35
getting to the bottom of this for any
16:37
sort of artificial timeline, but but
16:39
they will be moving very quickly.
16:41
>> Are you looking for any financial
16:42
compensation?
16:44
>> Um, we haven't uh considered that yet.
16:47
This is, like I said, I found out about
16:48
this Wednesday, but um certainly all
16:51
options are on the table. Governor,
16:53
weather related question. Severe storms
16:56
moving through the area in this
16:58
afternoon into potential for hail,
17:01
tornadoes, flooding. Are there any
17:03
specific preparations the state is
17:05
taking this afternoon? Any particular
17:07
areas of the state that
17:10
>> we've been on high alert due to all of
17:12
the weather um issues that we have had
17:16
over the last several days. Um JCPNL had
17:20
called in uh different mutual aid
17:22
workers to make sure that they were
17:24
ready to repair any power losses that we
17:26
experienced. Right now people should be
17:29
very careful. We anticipate there will
17:31
be um a heavy rain advisory across the
17:34
state. Flash flooding possible mostly in
17:37
the north. Um and as you mentioned some
17:40
uh possibilities of tornado and hail. I
17:42
I would just encourage everyone to
17:44
remember with this type of weather it
17:47
trees become very dangerous. You should
17:49
just be very very careful as you see
17:51
some of this to make sure you are
17:53
protected in a safe area and never drive
17:56
into uh any sort of water flash flood
17:58
zone.
17:59
>> Governor, you're promising
18:00
accountability for this to you. What
18:01
does accountability look like?
18:04
>> Well, it starts here. It starts with
18:06
being very transparent so that people
18:08
know what's going on and know that they
18:09
can expect us to get to the bottom of
18:11
it. Um it also uh should there be anyone
18:16
um that is identified that is still
18:19
working in this space that has not done
18:20
the right thing um I will hold them
18:22
personally accountable for this because
18:24
listen here's the thing I have said this
18:27
over and over and over again and I I
18:30
believe it to my core. Public service is
18:32
a privilege and it is a responsibility
18:36
because when you don't act in the way
18:39
you are hired to act then people can get
18:42
harmed. And right now in an
18:44
administration that have proven
18:45
themselves all too willing to target uh
18:48
vulnerable communities including our
18:50
immigrant community. We now have certain
18:53
people that through no fault of their
18:55
own have been registered to vote. It may
18:58
imperil their immigration status. It may
19:00
imperil different things. We are working
19:01
very hard to protect them, but that is
19:04
the responsibility of the people that
19:06
worked for the NVC that knew that this
19:07
was going on and did nothing to remedy
19:10
it. That's wrong.
19:11
>> Are there any concerns that it sounds
19:13
like you're not going to charge state?
19:18
Is there any concern that the feds might
19:22
charges?
19:22
>> It would be really the most in hypocrisy
19:25
for the state to charge them when it's
19:26
our fault. Um, however, I would not put
19:29
it past the federal government. So, we
19:30
are working very hard on ways in which
19:32
we can protect people here in the state
19:33
of New Jersey.
19:34
>> In terms of protecting, does that mean
19:36
that you won't release their information
19:40
to defense or or anyone else requested?
19:43
>> We are not in the practice of releasing
19:45
personally identifying information to
19:47
the federal government right now given
19:49
that the Trump administration continues
19:50
to weaponize it against people.
19:52
>> What was the question?
19:55
>> Yeah. What was the question? What did
19:56
that that did this and what who's the
19:58
vendor that's replacing them?
20:02
>> So, the vendor in question was IDmia and
20:05
we are transitioning into Talis who is a
20:08
proven vendor um with great uh record of
20:13
high integrity on their data and their
20:15
systems.
20:19
>> I don't want to get ahead of an
20:21
investigation um that will come out in
20:23
that if there is anything else.
20:30
This is DHS related, but the mayor may
20:35
suggested that the Trump administration
20:39
reverse course on the Roxberry detention
20:41
facility because you cycll
20:49
that wasn't the mayor. That was
20:50
>> right. He's a Republican. I'm sorry.
20:52
>> That was a council member.
20:53
>> Council member also the Republic
20:59
I mean, basically accusing you of
21:04
>> because I reported that we won in court.
21:06
So somehow that gives Trump full license
21:09
to walk back a very bad decision. Look,
21:11
here's the thing, Charlie. They overpaid
21:14
under no. They lost in court. And they
21:17
have egg on their face because, as I've
21:19
said before, when you make stupid
21:20
decisions, you often lose in court. And
21:22
so at this point I cannot help them
21:26
other than to say they should just move
21:28
on. The court has said said that they
21:30
cannot build there. So they can reverse
21:33
course and keep fighting in court. I
21:34
believe we will keep winning in court
21:36
because they should not be building a
21:38
mass human detention facility of 2,000
21:40
people in a warehouse with only two
21:42
bathrooms, the sewering system that
21:44
can't handle it, and the road system
21:46
that can't handle it.
21:47
>> Thanks. Okay. Thank you.
21:49
>> Thanks, guys.
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