AR156

An Assembly Resolution constituting a special committee of the General Assembly entitled the “Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity.”

Whereas, The right to vote is a fundamental right reserved for citizens of the United States who satisfy the eligibility requirements established by the Constitution and laws of this State, and the integrity of New Jersey’s elections requires both protecting the rights of eligible voters and preventing the registration and voting of persons who are not eligible; and

Whereas, In 2018, the New Jersey Legislature enacted P.L.2018, c.6, establishing automatic voter registration through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) and requiring the MVC and the Secretary of State to implement procedures under which eligible applicants for a driver’s license, examination permit, probationary driver’s license, or non-driver identification card would be registered to vote unless they declined registration; and

Whereas, P.L.2018, c.6 expressly declared that New Jersey’s voter registration systems must be secure, accurate, and efficient and maintained using the best available technologies and procedures, and required applicants to receive notice of voter eligibility requirements and affirm, under penalty of law, that they satisfied those requirements; and

Whereas, In 2019, the Legislature enacted P.L.2019, c.271, authorizing New Jersey residents to obtain standard driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards without regard to immigration status, thereby allowing persons who are not United States citizens—and therefore are not eligible to vote—to obtain licenses and identification cards through the MVC; and

Whereas, The implementation of these laws required the MVC and the Department of State to establish and maintain reliable safeguards capable of distinguishing between applicants who were eligible to register to vote and applicants who were eligible to obtain a driver’s license or identification card but were not eligible to vote; and

Whereas, During the Legislature’s consideration of legislation expanding access to driver’s licenses, members of the Senate and General Assembly Republican caucuses raised concerns regarding whether sufficient safeguards existed to prevent the information of individuals who were not United States citizens from being improperly transmitted to election officials or improperly registered to vote through the MVC automatic voter registration system; and

Whereas, In response to those concerns, the Assembly Judiciary Committee was advised through the testimony of then-MVC Chief Administrator B. Sue Fulton that the MVC’s automatic voter registration process included a verification of eligibility, that the MVC verified an applicant’s eligibility before transmitting the applicant’s record to the Division of Elections, and that “[t]he Secretary of State verifies voters’ eligibility”; and

Whereas, Those representations conveyed to the Legislature and the public that sufficient safeguards and verification procedures existed within the processes administered by the MVC, the Secretary of State, and the Division of Elections to prevent individuals who were not United States citizens, or who were otherwise ineligible to vote, from being registered through an MVC transaction; and

Whereas, In July 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill publicly disclosed that, notwithstanding the representations previously made to the Legislature regarding voter registration safeguards, a software error in the MVC’s system had, between June 2023 and June 2024, caused the information of approximately 6,600 individuals who expressly answered “No” when asked whether they were United States citizens to nevertheless be transmitted to the Statewide voter registration system for voter registration processing; and

Whereas, Governor Sherrill further disclosed that she had learned of the error only shortly before her July 21, 2026 public announcement, had directed an investigation into how the error occurred, and had ordered the removal from the voter rolls of persons who had been registered erroneously as a result of the error; and

Whereas, The affected individuals were reportedly registered through no fault of their own, notwithstanding their express responses that they were not United States citizens, demonstrating a failure of the voter registration system to honor or properly process information directly bearing upon voter eligibility; and

Whereas, The reported error continued for approximately one year and was not publicly disclosed until July 2026, approximately two years after the affected period ended, raising serious questions concerning when the MVC, the Secretary of State, the Division of Elections, their employees, contractors, and software vendors first became aware—or reasonably should have become aware—of the problem; and

Whereas, The Executive Branch subsequently reported that approximately 5,100 registrations attributable solely to the reported software error were placed in deleted status and approximately 1,450 additional registrations were placed in rejected status pending further review by county election officials; and

Whereas, The Executive Branch further reported that approximately 340 individuals who were newly registered as a result of the reported error voted and that approximately 220 additional affected individuals who voted had other registrations or attestations potentially indicating valid voter eligibility and therefore required further examination; and

Whereas, The State’s remediation process required the Statewide voter registration system to be taken temporarily offline, the preservation and review of affected records, the alteration of registration statuses, referrals to county commissioners of registration, and direct correspondence with affected individuals; and

Whereas, IDEMIA, the technology contractor responsible for supporting the MVC system, publicly disputed the Executive Branch’s characterization of the incident as a software glitch attributable to IDEMIA and asserted that the approximately 6,600 records contained accurate information consistent with the system’s design specifications established by the State; and

Whereas, IDEMIA specifically asserted that the affected records correctly reflected that the applicants had answered “Yes” when asked whether they wanted to register to vote and “No” when asked whether they were United States citizens, that this information was accurately recorded and remained available to State officials, and that no affected applicant had been incorrectly identified in the database as a United States citizen; and

Whereas, IDEMIA further maintained that its contractual role was limited to collecting and transmitting applicants’ self-reported information and that responsibility for validating and adjudicating voter registration applications ultimately rested with the Division of Elections; and

Whereas, The Executive Branch, in contrast, has maintained that the records of applicants who answered “No” to the citizenship question should never have been transmitted by the MVC system to the Division of Elections, thereby presenting materially conflicting accounts concerning the design and operation of the system and the respective responsibilities of IDEMIA, the MVC, the Secretary of State, and the Division of Elections; and

Whereas, These conflicting accounts raise substantial and unresolved questions concerning whether the improper registrations resulted from a software malfunction, deficient system-design specifications established or approved by the State, inadequate eligibility verification procedures, a failure by State officials to review information available to them, insufficient oversight of the State’s contractor, or some combination of these failures; and

Whereas, These circumstances also raise substantial questions concerning the design, procurement, testing, implementation, monitoring, auditing, and supervision of the MVC voter registration system; the performance and oversight of the responsible contractor or contractors; the exchange of information between the MVC and the Department of State; and the adequacy of the safeguards intended to prevent the registration of ineligible persons; and

Whereas, These circumstances further raise questions concerning whether State officials received warnings, error reports, audit findings, complaints, or other information that should have prompted earlier investigation or corrective action and whether relevant information was timely disclosed to the Governor, the Legislature, county election officials, and the public; and

Whereas, The registration of an ineligible person undermines public confidence in the accuracy of the State’s voter rolls, while an inaccurate or overbroad corrective action may improperly delay, reject, delete, or otherwise impair the registration of an eligible voter; and

Whereas, An investigation conducted exclusively by or under the direction of the Executive Branch cannot substitute for the Legislature’s independent constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight, determine whether existing laws were properly implemented, identify failures of administration and accountability, and consider appropriate remedial legislation; and

Whereas, The materially conflicting accounts presented by the Executive Branch and IDEMIA demonstrate the necessity of an independent legislative investigation with authority to compel testimony and the production of contracts, design specifications, testing records, source materials, communications, audit findings, incident reports, voter registration records subject to applicable privacy protections, and other relevant evidence; and

Whereas, A comprehensive and bipartisan legislative investigation is therefore necessary to determine how the improper registrations occurred; why the condition remained undetected, uncorrected, or undisclosed; who was responsible for designing, approving, implementing, and supervising the affected system; when State officials and contractors first learned of the problem; whether adequate safeguards and audits were employed; whether public funds were properly expended; whether the representations previously made to the Legislature were accurate; and what statutory, administrative, contractual, or technological reforms are necessary to prevent a recurrence; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. There is constituted a special committee of the General Assembly entitled the “Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity.” The committee shall be comprised of 12 members, six of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and six of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. There shall be two co-chairpersons of the committee, one of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and one of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly, from among the appointed members.

2. a. The Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity shall investigate and study the administration and integrity of the State’s voter registration and election systems, including:

(1) the accuracy and maintenance of current voter registration records and the Statewide voter registration system;

(2) the eligibility of persons currently registered to vote;

(3) the processes and procedures used to verify voter eligibility, including citizenship, where required by law;

(4) the collection, maintenance, transmission, sharing, and use of voter registration data, Motor Vehicle Commission records, citizenship status data, and other relevant records among State entities, the Judiciary, county and local election officials, and federal governmental entities, including the use of such records for the selection of jurors;

(5) compliance with applicable State and federal laws; and

(6) any acts, policies, practices, procedures, systems, or other matters affecting or potentially affecting the accuracy, security, integrity, or administration of elections or the registration of voters in this State.

b. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, information sought by the committee shall not be withheld on a basis of confidentiality or privacy. Appropriate safeguards shall be adopted by the committee at its first meeting to assist it in its review of confidential or private information.

3. For the purposes of carrying out its duties under this resolution, the Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity shall have all the powers conferred under the laws and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and the United States, including, but not limited to, the powers:

a. conferred pursuant to chapter 13 of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, including, but not limited to, the power to issue subpoenas to compel attendance and testimony of persons and the production of books, papers, correspondence, other documents and materials, and electronic records and data;

b. to hold hearings, take testimony under oath, and receive documentary or physical evidence relating to the matters and questions it is authorized to investigate or study;

c. to use any reasonable means of interviewing or fact gathering, including, but not limited to, preliminary conferences or interviews;

d. to convene a meeting or hearing to determine the adequacy of the return and rule on the objection if a return on a subpoena or order for the production of documentary evidence is incomplete or accompanied by an objection;

e. to utilize the powers provided under R.S.52:13-3 or hold individuals or entities in contempt of the committee;

f. to make findings and reports to the General Assembly of any recommendations, including recommendations for enforcement, that the committee may consider appropriate with respect to the willful failure or refusal of any person to appear before it, to answer questions or give testimony during an appearance of that person as a witness, or to produce before the committee any books, papers, correspondence, other documents and materials, and electronic records and data in compliance with any subpoena;

g. to respond to any judicial or other process, or to make application to the courts of this State, any other state, or the United States;

h. to report possible violations of any law, rule, regulation, or code to appropriate federal, State, or local authorities;

i. to adopt additional rules or procedures not inconsistent with this resolution; and

j. to hire an expert to advise on security and privacy protections, and to examine or audit relevant information systems, databases, software processes, and data transfers and controls.

4. a. The Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of the State of New Jersey, any political subdivision of the State, and any agency thereof, as may be required and as may be available for that purpose, and to employ any other services as may be deemed necessary, in order to perform the duties provided herein, and within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for that purpose.

b. The Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity shall be entitled to call to its assistance, employ, and avail itself of the services of special counsel retained to assist the committee.

5. This resolution shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon the conclusion of the committee’s work.

STATEMENT

This resolution constitutes a special committee of the General Assembly entitled the “Special Legislative Committee on Election Integrity.”

The committee will be comprised of 12 members, six of whom will be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and six of whom will be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. There will be two co-chairpersons of the committee, one of whom will be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and one of whom will be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly, from among the appointed members.

The committee will investigate and study the administration and integrity of the State’s voter registration and election systems, including:

the accuracy and maintenance of current voter registration records and the Statewide voter registration system;

the eligibility of persons currently registered to vote;

the processes and procedures used to verify voter eligibility, including citizenship, where required by law;

the collection, maintenance, transmission, sharing, and use of voter registration data, Motor Vehicle Commission records, citizenship status data, and other relevant records among State entities, the Judiciary, county and local election officials, and federal governmental entities, including the use of such records for the selection of jurors;

compliance with applicable State and federal laws; and

any acts, policies, practices, procedures, systems, or other matters affecting or potentially affecting the accuracy, security, integrity, or administration of elections or the registration of voters in this State.

Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, information sought by the committee may not be withheld on a basis of confidentiality or privacy. Appropriate safeguards will be adopted by the committee at its first meeting to assist it in its review of confidential or private information.

The committee will have all the powers authorized by the laws and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and the United States, including a variety of additional powers granted to it for the completion of its duties.