The Texas Secretary of State’s office has identified 2,724 individuals on the state’s voter rolls who may not be U.S. citizens, according to a press release issued Monday.
The identification comes from a cross-check between the state’s voter registration database and the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has faced legal challenges over its attempts to extract personal data, including immigration status, from voter rolls. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expanded its SAVE program to verify immigration status across the country. The cross-check also raises potential privacy issues.
What To Know
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced that her office had “completed a full comparison of the state’s voter registration list against citizenship data in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database.”
After comparing the 18 million voter list names with the SAVE database, 2,724 potential noncitizens who are registered to vote in Texas were identified, said the release.
Secretary Nelson said the Trump Administration’s decision to enable access to the data set for the first time had been “a game changer,” adding: “We appreciate the partnership with the federal government to verify the citizenship of those on our voter rolls and maintain accurate voter lists.”
Texas officials have been tasked with notifying the flagged voters and verifying their citizenship. Voter information accessible through the SAVE program may not always reflect current citizenship status. Individuals who have become naturalized citizens could still be flagged by the system as ineligible to vote. Migrants without legal status are legally prohibited from voting in federal elections.
Individuals who can provide proof of U.S. citizenship will remain on the voter rolls, while those unable to provide documentation may have their registrations temporarily canceled pending further review.
The flagged voter rolls are spread across Texas counties, with larger numbers in Harris, Dallas, Bexar, and El Paso counties.
The Secretary of State’s office released a county-level breakdown of potential migrants without legal status flagged in the voter roll review. Harris County had the highest number at 362, followed by Dallas 277, Bexar 201, and El Paso 165. Several smaller counties, including Andrews, Llano, and Cooke, reported fewer than 10 flagged registrations.
All 254 Texas counties were included in the SAVE database review. County election officials began sending verification notices this week as part of a 30-day review process.
What People Are Saying
Secretary Nelson said in a press release: “Everyone’s right to vote is sacred and must be protected. We encourage counties to conduct rigorous investigations to determine if any voter is ineligible—just as they do with any other data set we provide. The SAVE database has proven to be a critically important data set and one of many that we will continue to use in Texas to ensure that only qualified voters cast a ballot in our elections.”
Sydney Saubestre, a senior policy analyst at New America’s Open Technology Institute, previously told Newsweek: “The SAVE expansion isn’t about election integrity; it’s about expanding surveillance under the guise of voter verification. If the government can’t be trusted to respect the limits on how it uses our data, it can’t be trusted to protect our democracy.”
A DHS spokesperson, in April: “Illegal aliens have exploited outdated systems to defraud Americans and taint our elections. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, this revamped SAVE system will ensure government officials can swiftly verify legal status, halting entitlements and voter fraud.”
What Happens Next
County election officials will review the flagged registrations and send notices to individuals to verify their citizenship. Those who fail to provide proof within the 30 days may have their registrations temporarily canceled, though they can be reinstated if they later confirm their eligibility.
