Democratic lawmakers have described New Jersey’s mistaken registration of about 6,600 non-citizens to vote as a serious and unacceptable failure, calling for accountability over the state’s voter-registration system. They nevertheless rejected arguments that the incident demonstrates widespread election fraud, saying an administrative error should not be used to undermine confidence in elections more broadly.

Governor Mikie Sherrill said a software error in the state’s Motor Vehicle System caused the incorrect registrations. The episode has prompted criticism from Republicans and renewed scrutiny of safeguards intended to prevent non-citizens from being added to voter rolls, while Democrats stress that the error must be investigated and corrected.