Texas election officials have referred 117 cases to the attorney general’s office for investigation of potential noncitizen voting as the state continues reviewing its voter rolls ahead of the November election.
The cases stem from a statewide citizenship review that began last year, when the secretary of state’s office ran more than 18 million registered voters through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database.
That initial review identified 2,724 registered voters as potential noncitizens and sent their registrations to county officials for further investigation.
Since then, the secretary of state’s office and Department of Public Safety have conducted additional reviews. According to the state’s latest update, 578 of those voters have demonstrated citizenship, including 506 whose passport information was added to the federal database after the initial review.
Secretary of State Robert Howden said the state has a responsibility both to ensure only eligible voters participate and to protect eligible citizens’ ability to vote. Howden serves as Texas’ chief election officer.
Christine Welborn, president of Advancing Integrity, praised the latest referrals.
“This is fantastic news. Texas is truly leading the way by both using the SAVE database to identify noncitizens and actually investigating potential bad actors to hold them accountable,” Welborn told Texas Scorecard.
Nate Schatzline, a former member of the Texas House and current senior advisor on election integrity to Gov. Greg Abbott, praised Secretary Howden, adding that “Texas must be the leader in election integrity.”
The secretary of state’s office says the 117 cases have now been sent to the attorney general’s office for further investigation.
