Software Giant Blames Election Officials, CA Gets

New Jersey’s non-citizen voting scandal has taken a major twist after the software program company that Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) tried to blame is now firing back, pointing the finger squarely at state election officers who have been supposed to confirm who really will get to vote.

What started as Sherrill’s public admission that more than 6,600 non-citizens ended up on the voter rolls—with almost 400 casting ballots between June 2023 and June 2024—has shortly devolved into basic bureaucratic finger-pointing. And now the controversy is rippling into California, where the same vendor at the middle of New Jersey’s “glitch” has long dealt with DMV operations.

Sherrill, who took workplace this 12 months, blamed the error on the earlier administration of Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and said a preliminary review confirmed that IDEMIA, the software program company that supplies driver’s license and voter registration systems in the Garden State, was accountable.

Democrat Governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill admits there have been 6,600 non-citizens registered to vote in NJ:

“In June of 2023… a serious software error in New Jersey’s motor vehicle system led to the improper voter registration of… roughly 6,600 people in our state.” pic.twitter.com/YZNiK09CX5

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 21, 2026

READ MORE: That Thing Democrats Insist ‘Never Happens’ Just Happened 6,600 Times in New Jersey

Harmeet Strikes Immediately: DOJ Probe Launched After NJ Admits Allowing 400 Non-Citizens to Vote

“This entire situation is unacceptable,” Sherrill said. “It’s unacceptable that the vendor released software with such a glaring error, it’s unacceptable that the MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) took a year to get this issue fixed, and it’s unacceptable that no one in the previous administration brought this to light, demanded accountability, or took action when it happened years ago.”

The company, however, insisted its function was strictly restricted to transmitting data from the MVC to the state’s Division of Elections.

“IDEMIA’s function is to transmit data through the motor vehicle system. The voter registration data is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is finally accountable for verifying eligibility to vote,” the company said in a assertion. “Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.”

🚨 HOLY CRAP! The identity services provider New Jersey uses at the DMV is FIRING BACK at Gov. Sherrill, saying the NJ DIVISION OF ELECTIONS were the ones who registered 6,600 foreign voters

This was NOT a “software error.” This is a SCANDAL.

“IDEMIA’s role is to transmit… pic.twitter.com/BvT9HCmlfB

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 22, 2026

Embedded tweet continues:

… information through the motor vehicle system. 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.” 

So the Division of Elections MANUALLY APPROVED over SIX THOUSAND foreigners to vote. They weren’t mechanically registered by the software program supplier as the governor claimed. 

Time to come clean, @GovSherrillNJ!

Far from a simple “software error” on their end, the firm primarily argued that state officers dropped the ball by failing to correctly verify the citizenship standing of 1000’s of candidates who had already recognized themselves as non-citizens.

Still, Sherrill says the state might be phasing out use of the IDEMIA software program.

The controversy, though, is now seeping into California, where the same vendor has a major contract with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. 

California announced a partnership with IDEMIA in 2022 to modernize its DMV operations, including issuing all driver’s licenses and identification playing cards beginning in late 2025. The contract was for 12 years, while a press release from the company indicated that they had been offering bodily ID playing cards and technology to the Golden State for more than 64 years.

IDEMIA CEO Rob Gardner announced at the time that the partnership was “not just about aesthetics” but “about raising the bar on security and trust.”

While no equivalent software program error has been confirmed, the New Jersey scandal has prompted recent questions about whether or not California’s system might have comparable vulnerabilities in its automated voter registration course of—particularly as the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security have flagged tens of 1000’s of potential non-citizen registrations in California and demanded larger scrutiny of its voter rolls.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said states would have to comply with provisions of the SAVE America Act to obtain as a lot as $1 billion in federal funds going ahead.

“We are going to make our security enhancements mandatory, meaning that if these states want a grant and they want to be reimbursed to work or to run federal elections, they’re going to have to implement security issues,” Mullin said.

JUST IN: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says a federal review recognized almost 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote across California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, including that 46 states have yet to be reviewed. Mullin urged Congress to move the SAVE America Act,… pic.twitter.com/LV06TxjAHw

— NewYork-Insight (@NewYork_Insight) July 17, 2026

Embedded tweet continues:

… saying the nationwide review is much from full.

While the controversy now swirls in California, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber insisted following President Trump’s primetime election integrity speech on Thursday that “non-citizen voting remains exceedingly rare.”

“In California, election officials work every day to maintain accurate voter rolls and ensure that only eligible voters are registered,” Weber declared.

Sherrill, meanwhile, also downplayed the severity of the scandal and accused the Trump administration of making an attempt to “weaponize elections for political gain.”

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson fired back, suggesting Democrats are, and have been, mendacity to the public.

“Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot. Time and again, they have been proven wrong,” she asserted. “As President Trump has said, there is nothing more important than the integrity of our elections. And this latest incident underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act.”

Officials in New Jersey and California can deflect all they need, but this story underscores what Republicans have warned about for years. Without real verification and accountability, non-citizen voting stays a tangible vulnerability.

The American people deserve a real repair. The SAVE America Act could be a good place to start.

Editor’s Note: Republicans are preventing for election integrity by requiring correct identification to vote.

Help us continue to report why Democrats oppose such apparent measures by becoming a member of CrimsonState VIP and utilizing promo code FIGHT to obtain 60% off your membership.