Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson revealed her office completed a comprehensive review of the state’s voter registration list against “citizenship data in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database.” The effort identified over 2,700 individuals who may not be U.S. citizens but are registered to vote.
Nelson emphasized that only eligible U.S. citizens can participate in elections, stating the Trump Administration’s provision of free access to the SAVE database “has been a game changer” for verifying voter eligibility. The findings, which involve Texas’s 18 million voters, were shared with counties to investigate the status of these individuals under Chapter 16 of the Texas Election Code. If confirmed as noncitizens, they will be referred to the Office of the Attorney General.
The process, outlined in Sections 16.033 and 16.0332 of the Texas Election Code, requires counties to notify potential noncitizens and allow them 30 days to provide proof of citizenship. Failure to respond results in removal from voter rolls, though reinstatement is possible with documentation. Nelson reiterated the importance of safeguarding voting rights while ensuring only qualified voters participate.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised the initiative, calling it a critical step in protecting election integrity. He highlighted that since Senate Bill 1 was enacted, over 1 million ineligible registrations have been removed from Texas’s rolls, including noncitizens, deceased individuals, and those who moved out of state. Abbott stressed that illegal voting will not be tolerated, framing the effort as a national leader in electoral security.
Harris County had the highest number of potential noncitizens at 362, followed by Dallas (277), Bexar (201), and El Paso (165). The findings add to ongoing state-level audits of voter eligibility amid broader debates over election integrity.