IDEMIA, the contractor for New Jersey's voter registration system, disputes claims made by Mikie Sherrill regarding an error that incorrectly registered noncitizens. The company states that data was recorded correctly and available to the MVC, and that a setting change in June 2024 resolved the issue going forward.
The dispute highlights ongoing political tensions surrounding election integrity and immigration, with potential implications for voter registration processes and federal-state data sharing policies.
IDEMIA, the contractor responsible for New Jersey's voter registration software, has disputed claims made by Mikie Sherrill regarding an error that allegedly led to noncitizens being registered to vote. Lisa Shoemaker, IDEMIA's senior vice president of global corporate relations, stated that 6,600 individuals indicated they were not U.S. citizens but still wished to register to vote. She asserted that this information was accurately recorded and accessible to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC).
According to Shoemaker, the issue was resolved going forward in June 2024 when the MVC requested IDEMIA change its settings to automatically mark noncitizens as declining to register. However, the individuals registered in the preceding year were not removed or publicly disclosed until recently.
At a press conference, Sherrill reiterated her criticism of IDEMIA, calling the company incompetent and stating that the state had already decided to end its contract with them due to issues like long wait times and bureaucracy. The controversy has drawn national attention, with the Trump administration, through Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, requesting information about the noncitizen voters, suggesting potential prosecution.
Sherrill indicated that her administration is unlikely to comply with the federal government's request for personal data, citing a policy against sharing such information due to concerns about it being "weaponized."
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