The Texas Secretary of State’s Office is currently reviewing a list of 2,724 registered voters flagged as potential noncitizens. Christina Adkins, the director of the elections division, revealed during a meeting with county election administrators that this review aims to determine if any individuals have already submitted proof of citizenship to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). This step follows findings by county elections officials that the federal database utilized to create the list had erroneously flagged voters who had already provided citizenship documentation upon their registration.
In October, state officials distributed the list of potential noncitizens to counties after comparing Texas’ voter rolls, which encompass over 18 million registered voters, against a federal database designed for citizenship verification. County election officials have acknowledged that some of the flagged individuals are, in fact, citizens, although the exact number remains unclear. Furthermore, many flagged voters had registered through DPS, which mandates proof of citizenship, such as a passport, and retains copies of these documents.
For instance, in Travis County, Voter Registrar Celia Israel requested the state to cross-check the flagged registrants against DPS records. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office conducted this check, revealing that out of the 97 individuals marked as potential noncitizens, 11 had already provided proof of citizenship. Adkins noted that Travis County was the only jurisdiction to make such a request before the state decided to extend this review to flagged voters across the state.
Previously, the Texas Secretary of State’s Office stated that they had not compared the flagged registrants against DPS records before sending the list to county officials. This decision led to a lawsuit in March from voting rights advocates and Texas voters who argued the state should have conducted a thorough check. That legal challenge is still ongoing in federal court.
Meanwhile, local election officials in various counties have begun removing some flagged voters from their rolls after those individuals failed to respond to requests for proof of citizenship. It remains uncertain why the Texas Secretary of State’s Office is now choosing to verify the potential noncitizen list against DPS records and what guidance will be provided to county officials regarding the findings. The Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment on these matters.
Calls for Enhanced Verification Measures
The database used by state election officials to identify potential noncitizens is known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE. Last year, the Trump administration revamped SAVE, making it free for state use and simplifying searches. Officials have encouraged election administrators nationwide to utilize it for screening voter rolls for potential noncitizens.
Concerns have been raised by experts and election officials regarding the accuracy and reliability of the SAVE database. Advocacy groups have also initiated a federal lawsuit challenging the recent changes to SAVE and its application in voter verification processes.
During the meeting, Adkins explained that the initial decision not to cross-check the SAVE-identified list against DPS records stemmed from the belief that the two databases would not yield significant discrepancies. However, she acknowledged that differences have emerged. Adkins noted that these discrepancies affect only a “small fraction” of the flagged list and could arise from outdated information in either database or clerical errors, such as individuals who may have recently naturalized.
“No dataset is going to be 100% perfect,” she conveyed to the county officials. “That’s why we can’t cancel voters outright without additional investigation.”
Adkins further clarified that the state refrained from checking DPS records prior to distributing the lists to counties in October due to the time-consuming nature of manual checks required by DPS. This delay would have constrained the time available for counties to investigate ahead of the March 3 primary election. Federal regulations limit systematic voter list maintenance within 90 days of a federal election, closing the window for counties to conduct reviews by early December.
In a statement following the initial publication of this report, DPS officials indicated that the agency is collaborating with the Secretary of State’s Office to evaluate and provide information from the Driver License System concerning registered voters. They are prioritizing requests to verify voter citizenship status.
During a recent interim House Elections Committee hearing, state lawmakers deliberated on measures to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote. Travis County election officials advocated for the state to adopt the practice of cross-referencing results from the SAVE database with DPS data as a standard procedure in the future. Others voiced concerns about the time and resources required for election officials—especially in counties facing budget constraints—to investigate potential noncitizen registrants.
Last year, a proposed bill in Texas aimed to mandate that residents provide documented proof of citizenship to register to vote. However, the bill did not pass before the legislative session concluded. This proposal was among the most comprehensive proof-of-citizenship initiatives introduced across the country, applying not only to new voter registration applicants but also retroactively to the 18.6 million voters already registered in Texas.
