Republican lawmakers in New York are calling for a legislative hearing to investigate the state's voter registration process following a scandal in New Jersey where thousands of noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote. The incident in New Jersey has raised concerns among New York Republicans about potential vulnerabilities within their own state's systems, particularly given the involvement of a shared technology contractor.
In New Jersey, officials reported that a software error by a contractor, Idemia, led to approximately 6,000 immigrants being registered to vote despite indicating they were not citizens. Idemia, a company that verifies identities and has contracts with New York's Department of Motor Vehicles and other state agencies, is now under scrutiny.
Assemblyman Matt Slater, ranking member of the Assembly Elections Committee, stated in a letter that while there is no current evidence of a similar issue in New York, the shared vendor relationship necessitates legislative oversight. "The substantial public investment in this technology warrants prompt legislative oversight to determine whether comparable vulnerabilities exist within New York’s voter registration process," Slater wrote. Idemia has reportedly billed New York state agencies nearly a quarter billion dollars for various services since 2005.
New York state elections officials have asserted that noncitizens have not been added to the state's voter rolls. Kathleen McGrath, a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections, stated, "There is no indication of such an issue, because New York State does not use any similar external vendor when processing voter registrations." McGrath explained that New York's process differs from New Jersey's and is not subject to the same reported software issue. The DMV also clarified that Idemia has no involvement in the systems used to transfer voter registration applications from the DMV to the Board of Elections, stating that the DMV submits applications but does not process them.
However, Republican lawmakers remain unsatisfied with the perceived lack of transparency regarding how voter registration information is transmitted from the DMV. They emphasized the importance of accurate systems that distinguish between eligible and ineligible applicants.
A spokesperson for Idemia stated that the company's role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system to the relevant state division of elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility. The spokesperson added that information submitted by Idemia must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.