Tuesday, 28 July 2026, 4:37
A software error in New Jersey's motor vehicle system that improperly registered thousands of non-U.S. citizens to vote has raised questions about voter roll integrity in California. The vendor responsible, IDEMIA, a French company that operates globally, is the same company California chose to modernize its Department of Motor Vehicles and issue all state driver's licenses and IDs. The incident comes as the Trump administration pressures four states, including California, to scrub their voter rolls.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced on July 21 that over 6,600 non-U.S. citizens were incorrectly added to the state's voter rolls due to a software error in the Motor Vehicle Commission. The glitch occurred when noncitizens applied for driver's licenses or IDs and answered "no" to a keypad question about citizenship, but the system registered them to vote anyway. Sherrill emphasized that fewer than 400 of those wrongfully registered actually cast a ballot. “We have no evidence at this time that any elections were swayed,” she said at the July 21 news conference. The error persisted from June 2023 to June 2024, and a fix was implemented in June 2024. Sherrill promised immediate action and said she has ordered that all erroneously added voter registrations from that period be removed. She also is replacing the vendor who ran the system and is launching an investigation into how the error happened. “I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” she said in a statement. She also attempted to head off any future criticism of the issue from the president. “As the Trump Administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections,” she said. Sherrill also noted that the noncitizens who registered did so as Democrats, Republicans and independents. About 6.9 million people in New Jersey are registered to vote and more than 4 million cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, was governor when the error occurred. A representative for the former governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Christine Hanlon, chair of the Republican party organization in New Jersey, said voter registration needs to be improved and that a bipartisan investigation should dig into what happened, including why the registrations weren't disclosed previously. "The system and verification process must be improved in order to safeguard our elections," she said in a statement Tuesday. "The public also deserves to know why this was covered up and who was responsible for keeping this critical information from the public."
Substantial responsibility for the extraordinary blunder falls on Latrecia Littles-Floyd, who served as acting MVC chief administrator during the period when the faulty registrations occurred. Gov. Phil Murphy appointed Littles-Floyd after Sue Fulton left the agency to take a position in the Biden administration. Littles-Floyd also played a major role in the disenfranchisement of multiple U.S. citizens who were temporarily removed from the voter rolls due to a separate MVC error. She consistently resisted efforts to correct that problem. It remains unclear whether Littles-Floyd or senior officials in the Murphy administration knew about the software error. Sherrill is expected to hold any current MVC employees involved in the failure accountable. “I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen, and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time," Sherrill said. “This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now." A former federal prosecutor, Sherrill said election integrity is “fundamental to our democracy" and pledged to prevent a similar failure from occurring again. Sherrill also sharply criticized Trump, accusing him of seeking to “weaponize elections for political gain" and declaring that he has “zero credibility on the issue of election integrity." “For more than ten years, he has worked to undermine Americans’ faith in our elections by spreading lies about legitimate election results, attempting to overturn a free and fair election, encouraging an attack on our Capitol when he couldn’t accept the will of the voters, and defunding election security at the federal level," she said. Sherrill contrasted her administration’s response with Trump’s approach. “The difference is simple: when we find a problem, we don’t hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies," she said. “We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public. That’s what accountability and good governance look like, and that’s exactly what my administration is doing." “New Jerseyans should have confidence that every eligible citizen can vote, every lawful vote will be counted, and every reasonable step will be taken to protect the integrity of our elections," Sherrill said. “That’s my responsibility, and it’s one I will never stop fighting to uphold."
However, IDEMIA, the identity verification vendor for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, disputed Sherrill's claim that a "software error" caused the problem. In a statement on Thursday, the company said its voter registration system was working as intended and had been approved by the state before implementation. IDEMIA argued that the problem arose when noncitizen data were sent to the Division of Elections, asserting that state officials, not IDEMIA, were ultimately responsible for validating voter eligibility. IDEMIA spokeswoman Lisa Shoemaker went further, telling USA TODAY on July 23 that "the characterization that a glitch occurred is not accurate." "There was no glitch or software error," Shoemaker said, noting that the company follows written specifications from the state. According to Shoemaker, the state's own design stipulated the order of questions: first, "Would you like to register to vote?" second, "Are you a U.S. citizen?" and third, for citizens only, a party selection. Anyone who answered "no" to citizenship was never prompted for a party, but their records were saved and transmitted. In June 2024, the New Jersey Division of Elections flagged approximately 6,600 files that lacked a party affiliation, prompting the discovery. A New Jersey state official with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, stood by the governor's characterization, stating: "Anytime somebody answers 'no' to the citizenship question, that record should not be transmitted to the Division of Elections. That was the software error by IDEMIA." The company, which handles driver's license production for 36 states and manages contracts including TSA PreCheck and biometric solutions at the Pentagon, also said the state tested the software itself and approved it for deployment in 2023. IDEMIA says it produces the majority of driver's licenses in the United States. The dispute has become a flashpoint in the national debate over noncitizen voting, with Republicans seizing on it to push for election integrity legislation. IDEMIA, a French company that operates globally, reiterated in a statement to NOTUS that the files contained accurate information "according to the design specifications as set out by the state." Democrats deny these allegations and say Trump supporters have offered no proof that anyone intentionally allowed noncitizens to register or vote. The governor's office declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
Sherrill directly rebutted IDEMIA's defense. "And now to suggest somehow that the fact that they had a huge software error like this for a year that they did not catch is somehow not something they were responsible for," she said. "I mean, this is why we're getting rid of them."
Sherrill also revealed that her administration had already begun the process of terminating IDEMIA before she learned last Wednesday of the voter registration glitch. She said the company's handling of the MVC's troubled computer systems had convinced her that IDEMIA needed to go. "I think it's well known that the Motor Vehicle Commission has been a mess," Sherrill said. "And IDEMIA is at the heart of that. Long wait times, bureaucracy, red tape." She noted that Rosalie Johnson, her newly appointed chief administrator of the MVC, was already moving to fire IDEMIA due to incompetence before the registration error came to light. "The commissioner was already in the process of removing them for their incompetence," Sherrill said.
Sherrill emphasized that the problems at the MVC were why she recruited Johnson, who previously held a senior motor vehicles position in Colorado, to take control of the troubled agency. "This predates my understanding as of last Wednesday of what occurred, just my understanding of the MVC as in failure," she said. "It's why I recruited Rosalie, because she had a fantastic reputation there, because we knew that, for example, REAL ID wait times were among the worst in the nation, and the pickup of REAL ID was among the worst in the nation." She added that the problems had become so severe that New Jersey residents were being advised to obtain passports rather than wait for REAL ID appointments. "People were being told, go get a passport because that'll be faster," she said. "That's the disarray that was going on there. That's what IDEMIA was running poorly."
Meanwhile, Sherrill announced that New Jersey would not turn over personally identifying information about the affected individuals to the Trump administration, arguing that the federal government could not be trusted to use the data responsibly or keep it secure. "We are not in the practice of turning this kind of personally identifying data over to the federal government, because we have seen them weaponize it," Sherrill said. "I've seen it personally. They are working to weaponize personal data, and they don't have a reputation for keeping it private either. We've seen data breaches again and again and again." Sherrill also accused the Trump administration of attempting to weaponize the MVC failure against immigrants rather than help the state.
Sherrill has ordered an independent investigation into how the software failure occurred, who knew about it, and why the problem was not disclosed publicly. She said the investigation is ongoing. "They are canvassing everyone, and they'll get to the bottom of it," she stated. Asked why it took two years for the problem to become public, Sherrill said, "I don't know, but it's unacceptable."
California announced a partnership with IDEMIA Public Security North America in March 2022 to "reimagine" the DMV with new technologies. In October 2025, the state confirmed IDEMIA would issue all Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards for California. However, it is not known whether California's DMV uses the same application software that caused the New Jersey error. USA TODAY asked IDEMIA if similar glitches could have occurred in California, but the company did not directly address the question. In a statement, IDEMIA said its role in New Jersey was limited to transmitting information to the state's Division of Elections, which is responsible for verifying eligibility.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has repeatedly stated that non-citizen voting is "exceedingly rare" in the state. She noted that election officials constantly review voter eligibility to ensure accuracy. The California Secretary of State's office had not responded to USA TODAY's inquiries about any potential issues with IDEMIA's software or voter roll discrepancies. The state's voter rolls are now under scrutiny as part of a broader federal push.
New Jersey is one of 19 states that allow non-U.S. citizens to obtain driver's licenses, but none of those laws permit noncitizens to vote. The software error highlights the challenges of separating license issuance from voter registration. The Trump administration has long claimed that noncitizen voting is a widespread problem, though studies show it is extremely rare. The Heritage Foundation's Election Fraud Cases database found only 77 cases of noncitizen voting between 1999 and 2023. Other states have had similar issues with automatic voter registrations. In Oregon, officials in 2024 found that about 1,600 people were registered to vote through the state's DMV even though they didn't show proof of citizenship. Most of them were later confirmed to be citizens. The number of people wrongly registered grew by more than 100 by last year, but the state found that only about 30 ineligible voters had cast ballots. Colorado officials said in 2022 that they had mistakenly sent postcards to 30,000 noncitizens to encourage them to register. The state said none would be allowed if they tried to do so. A 2019 state audit of California's then-new DMV registration program also flagged issues.
Days before Sherrill's announcement, President Donald Trump asserted that U.S. elections have numerous weaknesses. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed his agency identified over 250,000 potential noncitizens illegally registered in California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. He sent letters demanding those states review their voter rolls within two weeks. Mullin warned that non-compliant states would be prioritized for federal investigation. In response, Weber called on Trump to "stop undermining confidence in our democracy" and said her office would carefully review the DHS methodology once received. She added that the White House's claims do "not inspire any level of confidence in the methodology used or the conclusions reached." The White House on Tuesday used the revelation to promote Trump's SAVE America Act, which would require people to show documentary proof of citizenship before they register to vote and impose voter ID requirements nationwide. The measure has passed the U.S. House but has not gotten a vote in the Senate, where even some Republicans oppose it. “American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. The Pennsylvania Department of State said in an emailed statement provided by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office Tuesday that “evidence has shown that noncitizen voting is extremely rare across the country, including in Pennsylvania." The department added that it would review any information the Department of Homeland Security provided to “evaluate the validity of these claims."
Multiple Republicans echoed the White House in calling for passage of the SAVE Act in response to the news, including Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., former acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Trump has repeatedly boycotted key legislation in Congress over the Senate’s inability to pass the SAVE Act. The Senate does not have the necessary support from Democrats to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold needed to approve the bill. House Republicans are aiming to include elements of the SAVE Act in a must-pass defense spending bill to avoid a right-wing revolt that could prevent it from passing.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed: “35,152 is the new number just released by Homeland Security of non-citizens registered to vote in New Jersey." It is unclear where the president pulled this number from as it is significantly larger than the 6,600 number flagged by the state. In his speech on election integrity last week, the president claimed that the Department of Homeland Security had found “approximately 278,000 noncitizens who are registered to vote in federal elections," without specifying how the agency arrived at this number. In his Tuesday night post, the president added: “These are just the ones that got caught. The real numbers will prove to be many times this amount," without offering specific evidence. He demanded that the Republicans pass the SAVE America Act to “straighten out our Crooked Elections."
On July 24, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-New Jersey, led 18 of his Republican colleagues in the House in demanding answers from Sherrill. “Republicans have been sounding the alarm for years about weaknesses in voter-registration systems, inadequate voter-roll maintenance, and the danger that noncitizens may be registered and permitted to vote in national elections, which is illegal under federal law," Van Drew wrote. "These concerns have too often been dismissed as exaggerated or unfounded. New Jersey's admission demonstrates that these vulnerabilities are real and that even a system supposedly designed to screen out ineligible applicants can fail on a massive scale." The Department of Justice has also announced that it would investigate the incident.
IDEMIA also has ties to Arizona, where it provided mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs. IDEMIA had provided Arizona services for a decade. The news of the glitch came on the day of Arizona’s July 21 primary election, but no immediate connections were found to Arizona’s voter registration system. The company launched mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs for Samsung Wallet with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division in 2023, allowing Arizonans to add their driver’s license or state ID to Samsung Wallet and tap their smartphone to “seamlessly and securely pass identity checks," according to a news release. However, the Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed that it does not use the same vendor as New Jersey did. “ADOT MVD does not use the same vendor as New Jersey did," ADOT spokesperson Bill Lamoreaux said in an email. The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment and directed inquiries to the Department of Transportation. According to Lamoreaux, IDEMIA provided driver's licenses and ID cards in Arizona until 2023. State records show a contract with IDEMIA's subsidiary in Massachusetts began in December 2015 and ended in December 2023. The same year, ADOT approved a new mobile ID contract with the firm that lasted through October 2025. In a written statement, IDEMIA said the error was New Jersey's responsibility. “IDEMIA's role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system," the company said in an unsigned email. “Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections." IDEMIA declined to answer questions about its relationship to Arizona. Sam Stone, the chief of staff to Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, said the county and the state of Arizona each use proprietary software systems for voter registration that were built in-house. Arizona has had its own voter registration issues in the past. In 2024, the Secretary of State's Office said more than 200,000 voters had been impacted by a citizenship tracking glitch.
Despite the New Jersey error, several states are defending their contracts with IDEMIA, expressing confidence in the integrity of their voter rolls ahead of the midterm elections. Representatives for state motor vehicle agencies in New York, California, Rhode Island, Michigan, and Pennsylvania said they were confident in the integrity of their statewide voter lists, despite the disclosure that roughly 6,600 non-citizens had been enrolled to vote in New Jersey in 2023 and 2024. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the glitch occurred under the administration of former Gov. Phil Murphy.
The New Jersey voter registration error has cast a spotlight on California's reliance on IDEMIA for DMV modernization. While state officials have not confirmed any similar issues, the incident underscores the need for robust verification systems. As the federal government demands voter roll reviews, California must balance election integrity with protecting voter privacy. The coming weeks will reveal whether the state's systems have been compromised.
