After running its entire list of more than 18 million voters through the SAVE database, Texas has identified 2,724 potential noncitizens who are registered to vote in the state.
Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced Monday that her office had completed a full comparison of the state’s voter registration list against data in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database.
SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) is an online service for government agencies to verify the immigration status and naturalized/acquired U.S. citizenship of applicants seeking benefits or licenses.
“Only eligible United States citizens may participate in our elections,” stated Secretary Nelson. “The Trump Administration’s decision to give states free and direct access to this data set for the first time has been a game changer, and we appreciate the partnership with the federal government to verify the citizenship of those on our voter rolls and maintain accurate voter lists.”
Nelson announced in June that Texas had become one of the first states to partner with USCIS to compare its voter list with SAVE data. In its initial review, the agency found 33 potential noncitizens who may have voted illegally in the November 2024 election and referred them to the Office of the Attorney General.
Under Texas election law, the secretary of state is required to report potential criminal violations to the OAG, which has authority to investigate them.
Nelson said the latest potential noncitizen voter files were provided last week to county voter registration officials—elections administrators, county clerks, or tax assessor-collectors—who maintain their local voter lists.
County officials will investigate the eligibility of these voters as part of their statutory responsibilities to remove ineligible voters from the rolls.
Voters identified as potential noncitizens will receive a notice from the county voter registrar and may present proof of citizenship in order to remain registered. If a response is not received by the county in 30 days, the registration will be canceled, but it can be immediately reinstated by providing proof of U.S. citizenship to an elections office or at a polling location.
Once the local verification process is complete, individuals who are deemed noncitizens that voted in a Texas election will be referred to the OAG.
“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,” said Nelson. “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.”
Texas currently has 18.4 million registered voters across 254 counties. About a third of all counties had zero potential noncitizens on their voter rolls. Most others had single-digit numbers.
Not surprisingly, a county-level breakdown reveals that the 10 most-populous Texas counties have the highest numbers of potential noncitizens registered to vote:
- Harris – 362
- Dallas – 277
- Tarrant – 145
- Bexar – 201
- Travis – 97
- Collin – 109
- Denton – 84
- Fort Bend – 55
- Hidalgo – 149
- El Paso – 165
In addition to using SAVE data to verify voters’ citizenship, Texas has joined a multi-state coalition urging the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to amend its rules and require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship on federal voter registration forms, helping ensure that only citizens vote in federal elections.
A proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution reinforcing that voters must be United States citizens is on the November 4 ballot.
