New York Voter Integrity Concerns Spark Call for Oversight Hearing

Concerns over voter integrity in New York have intensified after an alleged software error in neighboring New Jersey registered thousands of noncitizens to vote, leading Assembly Republicans to call for a legislative review of the state’s voter registration system.

In a letter signed by all 47 members of the Assembly Republican Conference, lawmakers asked the chairs of the Election Law and Ways and Means committees to convene a joint oversight hearing on New York’s voter registration safeguards. The request follows New Jersey’s disclosure that approximately 6,600 noncitizens were erroneously registered through its Motor Vehicle Commission system.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill blamed the problem on a “serious software failure,” but the company responsible for the system, French identity and biometric technology firm IDEMIA, disputed that characterization, saying voter eligibility is ultimately verified by the New Jersey Division of Elections.

Assemblyman Matt Slater, the ranking Republican on the Election Law Committee, said New York should examine its own system because the state also does business with IDEMIA.

“When we looked at the issue compared to New York, we have 44 contracts with the same vendor totaling more than half a billion dollars,” Slater noted in an interview with the South Shore Press. “We believe it requires the necessary oversight and questioning to ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent responsibly and that we are also doing all in our power to protect the integrity of our elections.”

Slater said the conference is not alleging that New York has experienced the same type of failure, but it wants lawmakers and election officials to publicly explain how the state’s voter registration process works.

“People need to have confidence in our elections, and the best way to instill confidence is through transparency,” he stressed. “We think it’s critically important that we hold this hearing.”

Slater said lawmakers want testimony from election officials about how voter registration applications submitted through the Department of Motor Vehicles, social services agencies and New York’s automatic voter registration program are processed before being forwarded to county boards of elections.

He also expressed concern that New York’s Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, raises additional questions that deserve public answers.

“The concern regarding illegal immigration is that New York State under the Green Light Law now gives noncitizens driver’s licenses,” Slater said. “We are not convinced there are the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that the driver’s license being provided is in fact a citizen’s license and not a noncitizen’s license. That’s one of the questions that has to be answered.”

Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano and the other Republican signers wrote that the shared vendor relationship and New York’s significant investment in the technology warrant a thorough public review to determine whether adequate safeguards exist and whether any vulnerabilities should be addressed before the upcoming election. Another co-signer, Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick, said the incident underscores why Republicans have long advocated for stronger election security measures.

“That same company is doing work in New York State, and that raises a red flag and is a cause for concern,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s why transparency and the voter ID requirement are so important, because they take these issues off the table.”

Fitzpatrick also pointed to Democratic opposition to the federal SAVE Act and voter identification requirements, saying those debates have heightened public concern over election integrity.

“I’m not making any accusations,” Fitzpatrick said. “I just think there have to be safeguards out there. This is why transparency and voter ID are so important.”

The lawmakers are requesting testimony from the State Board of Elections, Department of Motor Vehicles, Office of Information Technology Services, other agencies involved in voter registration, the software vendor and independent experts. They say the hearing should examine voter verification procedures, technology contracts, data security, system controls and other safeguards intended to prevent erroneous voter registrations and strengthen public confidence in New York’s election system.