Fact Check: Did New Jersey admit 6,600 'foreigners' were registered to vote?

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY:  A viral social media post by conservative commentator Nick Sortor claims New Jersey Gov Mikie Sherrill acknowledged that thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote in the state and accuses officials of overseeing widespread election misconduct.

The post has rapidly gained traction online as noncitizen voting and election integrity remain central issues in the national political debate. Here's what New Jersey officials actually announced and how the viral claims compare with the available evidence.

Claim: New Jersey covered up noncitizen voter registrations

A viral post alleges that New Jersey officials acknowledged thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote, hundreds cast ballots illegally and those responsible should face criminal prosecution. It further suggests the incident points to broader election fraud than officials have disclosed.

Fact Check: Mostly true, but missing important context

The core numbers in the viral post are accurate.

At a July 21 press conference, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that approximately 6,600 people who indicated on a Motor Vehicle Commission touchscreen that they were not US citizens were nevertheless registered to vote because of a software error between June 2023 and June 2024. A preliminary review also found that fewer than 400 of those individuals appear to have cast ballots.

Sherrill said the problem originated under the previous administration of Gov. Phil Murphy and that she only became aware of it last week. She announced that the affected registrations would be removed, a formal investigation would begin and the state's software vendor would be replaced.

Where the viral post becomes misleading is in its framing.

First, the claim that Sherrill "admitted" the issue suggests she was forced to acknowledge wrongdoing after being exposed. In reality, the governor publicly disclosed the error herself during a press conference and announced corrective actions. There is no evidence the information emerged because of an outside investigation or whistleblower.

Second, the post repeatedly refers to the affected individuals as "foreigners." Official statements describe them as noncitizens, a category that includes lawful permanent residents, visa holders and other legal noncitizens, not solely undocumented immigrants. The state has not released any breakdown of their immigration status.

Third, the suggestion that everyone involved "should be in handcuffs" is not supported by the available evidence. According to New Jersey officials, many of the affected individuals correctly answered that they were not citizens, but the software registered them anyway. While noncitizen voting is prohibited under federal law, investigators have not alleged that those registered intentionally sought to vote illegally or knowingly misrepresented their citizenship.

Finally, the post claims there is "no way there aren't more," but that is speculation. No evidence released by New Jersey supports the assertion that additional undocumented cases exist beyond those currently under investigation.

The viral post accurately reports the existence of the New Jersey registration error and correctly cites the approximately 6,600 erroneous registrations and fewer than 400 ballots cast.

However, it misrepresents key aspects of the story by portraying a self-disclosed software failure as a forced admission, conflating all noncitizens with "foreigners," implying criminal intent without evidence and presenting speculation as fact.