Texas election officials investigating more than 2,700 potential noncitizens registered to vote

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Secretary of State’s office announced Monday it identified 2,724 potential noncitizens who are registered to vote in the state using data from a federal database.

The list of potential noncitizens were sent to county election officials last week who are now responsible to verify the eligibility of these voters, according to election code. Seven counties had more than 100 of these potential noncitizens on the voter registration list. Those counties include:

• Collin – 109
• El Paso – 165
• Bexar – 201
• Dallas – 277
• Harris – 362
• Hidalgo – 149
• Tarrant – 145

“Everyone’s right to vote is sacred and must be protected,” Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said in the announcement. “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.”

State and federal law prohibits a noncitizen from voting in an election. In the constitutional amendment election happening right now, Proposition 16 would add language into the Texas constitution to reflect the state and federal law.

Nelson said her office utilized data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) SAVE database, which allows government agencies to “verify immigration status and U.S. citizenship of applicants seeking benefits or licenses,” according to the USCIS website. More than 18 million voters on the Texas voter list were run through the SAVE database.

The Secretary of State’s office used the SAVE database this summer when it compared the list of people who voted in the November 2024 election. That analyses found 33 people may have voted illegally in the election. Those 33 people were referred to the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Nexstar reached out to the Texas OAG to ask about those 33 claims and is waiting to hear back.

Texas election code said county election officials must notify these potential noncitizens in written form that their voter registration is at risk of being cancelled and for them to provide proof of eligibility. That person has 30 days to respond before they are taken off the voter registration list. A person can be immediately reinstated following a cancellation if they provide proof of citizenship to an elections office or polling location.

Nexstar reached out to the seven counties with more than 100 potential noncitizen voters to ask what their procedure is to investigate these claims, especially as early voting for the Nov. 4 election began on Monday. We are waiting for responses and will update this if any are received.