Texas Investigation into Non-Citizen Voting

In a recent announcement, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson highlighted the discovery of 33 potential non-citizens who allegedly voted, prompting a probe by the Texas Attorney General’s Bureau of Investigation. If these individuals are confirmed not to be US citizens, they may face charges of criminal fraud.

Governor Greg Abbott emphasized Texas’s commitment to scrutinizing voter rolls to ensure that only legitimate citizens participate in elections. He mentioned in a statement, “Texas continues to monitor voter roles. Every time we find non-citizen voters, we refer them for a criminal investigation. To be clear, only legal citizens can vote.”

This referral follows Texas’s recent access to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) systematic alien verification for entitlements (SAVE) database, which is designed to provide immigration status information to various levels of government.

Secretary Nelson described gaining access to this database as a significant development, stating it was a “game changer.” Earlier this March, President Donald Trump’s directive allowed states to utilize these databases, which aimed to enhance electoral integrity.

Following a previous denial from former President Biden regarding access to the SAVE database, Texas had previously initiated 16 lawsuits against his administration over the matter. Last year, Texas was able to remove about 6,500 non-citizens from voter rolls, yet due to restrictions from the Biden administration, it couldn’t confirm the citizenship status of nearly 500,000 voters.

In May, Governor Abbott signed legislation that will enable Texas voters to include citizenship requirements for voting in the state constitution this November. There are also similar proposals at the federal level addressing proof of citizenship for voting.