新泽西州州长米基・谢里尔于周二披露，在前一任州长执政时期，由于机动车管理系统出现技术故障，大约 660 名申报自己并非美国公民的人士被错误登记为选民。谢里尔今年正式就任州长，她补充称，经核查，其中实际参与投票者不足 400 人，州政府正采取行动，将这批人员从选民名册中移除。
就在新泽西州对外公布这一情况不到一周前，美国国土安全部长马克韦恩・马伦致信新泽西州以及另外三个州，声称这些州可能有数万名非公民登记在册参与投票，但马伦并未说明国土安全部得出这一估算数字的确切依据。马伦与国土安全部宣称，仅新泽西州就 “可能多达 35152 名非公民登记为选民”。
谢里尔在周二发布声明表示：“上周我获悉，新泽西机动车系统出现严重软件故障。2023 年 6 月至 2024 年 6 月期间，约 660 名在申领驾照、州身份证件时明确勾选‘非美国公民’的人员，被系统自动登记为选民。这些人本身并无任何过错，却遭遇系统失误。该事件发生距离我上任还有将近三年。”
州长的声明写道，州政府 “初步分析” 显示，因系统错误被登记的人员当中，不到 40 人参与过选举投票;这批选民分属不同党派，有人登记为民主党、共和党，也有无党派选民，并非集中隶属于单一政党。
周二记者会上，谢里尔表示，这些人员自被登记后理论上有权参与后续各类选举，但州政府 “目前没有证据表明任何一场选举结果因这批选票受到影响”。
谢里尔已下达多项指令：启动独立调查厘清事件全貌;清理选民名册中所有不符合登记资格人员;新上任的机动车委员会主管着手更换这套故障系统的外包服务商。州长承诺，调查结束后对外公布完整结论。同时州政府将谨慎保护这批被误登记非公民的个人信息，避免他们的移民身份因此遭遇不利后果。
负责运营这套系统的法国爱迪米亚公司(IDEMIA)发布声明回应：“四十多年来，爱迪米亚长期与新泽西机动车委员会合作，协助民众在申领、更新驾照或身份证件时，表达登记选民意愿。本公司仅负责通过机动车系统传输相关信息;选民登记资料最终移交新泽西州务厅选举处，选民投票资格的审核判定权归属选举处。爱迪米亚提交的数据，仍需选举处核验裁定。”
记者会上，谢里尔驳斥了一种说法：不能把本次系统故障，当成特朗普政府针对新泽西选民名册各类指控的佐证。
“我明确说明：在选举诚信议题上，唐纳德・特朗普毫无可信度。过去十年，他不断散布毫无证据的选举舞弊阴谋论，反复‘狼来了’。” 谢里尔对记者表示。
谢里尔顺带提及国土安全部的信函，称国土安全部估算的非公民选民数量，与新泽西州自查发现的规模明显不匹配。她确认收到信函，但州政府向联邦政府索要支撑 3 万多人估算数字的证据，至今没有得到任何材料。
与此同时，美国司法部周二宣布，将介入调查此事。
助理司法部长哈米特・迪隆致信谢里尔，并在社交平台公开信件内容：“必须保障美国公民选票不会因非公民非法投票遭到稀释，此事至关重要。因此我们正式致函，要求提供更多信息，评估新泽西州是否遵守各项联邦法律。” 迪隆要求新泽西州在 5 个工作日内提交：州内排查发现的误登记非公民个人信息，以及其中约 400 名参与投票人员的详细资料。
州长发言人对此评价，司法部索要个人信息，是白宫长期 “利用司法部作为政治工具” 行为的延续。
发言人肖恩・希金斯向美国广播公司表示：“特朗普政府历来习惯于动用司法部达成政治目的、试图推翻选举结果。谢里尔州长态度明确，将动用一切法律手段保护新泽西民众个人信息安全。”
希金斯并未说明州政府是否会按照司法部 5 日期限的要求作出正式回应。
白宫周二表态称，谢里尔州长公布的情况，印证国会有必要通过总统主推的《保护美国选民资格法案》，对美国选举运行机制进行大规模改革。
白宫发言人阿比盖尔・杰克逊发布声明：“民主党及其媒体盟友一直宣称，非公民不可能完成选民登记，更谈不上参与投票。正如特朗普总统所言，没有什么比选举公信力更加重要。本次事件充分说明，《保护美国选民资格法案》势在必行。美国选民理应相信选举安全可靠;特朗普总统将持续为此努力，所有爱国美国人都应当一同支持。”
New Jersey accidentally registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote years ago, governor says
About 6,600 people in New Jersey who said they were not U.S. citizens had been incorrectly registered to vote due to a technical errorduring the previous gubernatorial administration,Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who took office this year, said Tuesday. She added that fewer than 400 were found to have actually voted and that the state is taking action to remove them from its voter rolls.
The admission came less than a week after Department of Homeland Security SecretaryMarkwayne Mullinsent letters to New Jersey and three other states alleging that those states might have tens of thousands of noncitizens registered to vote, although Mullin did not explain how precisely DHS got those numbers.
Mullin and DHS had alleged that New Jersey could have "as many as ... 35,152 non-citizens registered to vote in New Jersey."
Sherrill said in a statement on Tuesday, "Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey's Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered 'no' when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers' licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway."
The governor's statement said that the state's "preliminary analysis" found that less than 400 people who were erroneously registered to vote had voted in elections and were not tied to just one party; they were registered as Democrats, Republicans, or unaffiliated voters.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Sherrill said those voters could have potentially voted in any election since being registered, but the state has "no evidence at this time that any elections were swayed" because of those voters.
Sherrill said that she has ordered an independent investigation about what happened, the removal of any New Jersey residents from the state's voter rolls who should not have been registered to vote, and that the new administrator of New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission is starting to replace the vendor tasked with running thefaultysystem.
The governor also said she will present the state's findings after it investigates, and that the state is taking care to protect the identities of noncitizens who were registered inadvertently so that their immigration status does not get imperiled.
In a statement, IDEMIA, the company that runs the system faulted by the governor, said: "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 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."
At her press conference, Sherill pushed back against any insinuation that the finding validates claims the Trump administration has made about New Jersey's voter rolls.
"Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity. For the past 10 years, he's cried wolf and peddled bizarre conspiracy theories about fraud with no evidence," she told reporters during the press conference.
Sherrill also briefly referenced the DHS letter, saying that the number of alleged noncitizen voters appears to be unrelated to the number of noncitizen voters New Jersey uncovered. She confirmed New Jersey received the DHS letter, but said the state asked the administration for any evidence of there being that many noncitizen voters and has not gotten anything back yet.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said Tuesday that is investigating the matter.
In a letter to Sherrill shared on social media, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, wrote: "Ensuring that U.S. citizens' votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens votes is of paramount importance. We therefore write to formally request additional information to assess New Jersey's compliance with various federal statutes." Dhillon asked for the state to provide within five business days personal information on the registered noncitizens the state identified and details on the around 400 who voted.
A spokesperson forthe governor framed the Department of Justice's ask for personal details of the noncitizens who were registered to vote as part of "a long history" of the White House "weaponizing the Justice Department".
“The Trump administration has a long history of weaponizing the Justice Department for political purposes andattemptingto overturn election results. Governor Sherrill has been clear that she will use all the legal tools available to her to protectNewJerseyans' personal information," spokesperson Sean Higgins wrote in a statement to ABCNews on Wednesday.
Higgins did not clarify if the state plans to respond formally to the DOJ, which said it wanted the information "within five business days".
The White House said Tuesday's announcement from Sherrill bolsters the need for Congress to pass the president's signatureSAVE America Act, which would significantly retool the administration of American elections.
"Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
"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," she added. "American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure -- President Trump will never stop fighting to make that happen and all patriotic Americans should join in his effort."
