Senator Pennacchio Seeks Answers from IDEMIA, Issues OPRA to MVC

Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris, Passaic) sent a letter to IDEMIA Identity and Security to obtain their side of the story after Governor Sherrill blamed the company after it was revealed non-citizens were registered to vote in New Jersey between 2023 and 2024. The senator also submitted an OPRA request to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to obtain records pertaining to non-citizens that have been registered to vote dating back to 2002.

"This wasn't a software glitch. It was malpractice from the Murphy administration and a severe breach of the public trust that we're just now finding out about," said Senator Pennacchio. "I'm seeking answers from IDEMIA and the MVC because the public deserves full transparency and accountability from the individuals and entities involved."

An excerpt from the letter to IDEMIA reads:

Frankly, Governor Sherrill's account of how the error occurred stretches the bounds of credulity. While a spokesperson for the Governor suggested that the purported software glitch may have resulted from records of individuals who answered "No" to the citizenship question being erroneously transmitted to the Division of Elections, IDEMIA has stated that the 6,600 registrants at issue had checked "Yes" to wanting to register to vote and "No" to being a U.S. citizen.

Even if a "software error" did result in the erroneous transmission of voter registration information, it is ultimately the responsibility of the Division of Elections to verify eligibility to vote-in other words, the buck stops there.

Read the full text of the letter online here.

The OPRA submitted by Senator Pennacchio requests information on noncitizens registered to vote between January 1, 2002, and present date and whether those registered voted in elections during that time frame. Additionally, the OPRA requests documents concerning people who indicated non-citizenship during the MVC voter registration process and were registered to vote, but were later removed as a result of the State verifying citizenship.

"It's important that we do not limit ourselves to 2023 and 2024. The registration of 6,600 non-citizens is simply what we know about so far. We need to determine whether this was an isolated failure or part of a much larger problem that has gone undetected for years due to human error, negligence, or intentional misconduct."

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