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The Secretary of State confirmed that each Texas county will now be tasked with investigating these potentially illegal registrations. If those flagged individuals fail to prove citizenship, they’ll be removed from the voter lists immediately. Those who can provide proper documentation will remain eligible to cast a ballot.
Any confirmed noncitizen who has already voted could face serious legal consequences. The matter may be referred to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for investigation and possible prosecution.
“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,” Nelson emphasized.
She went on to highlight the critical role of the SAVE database, calling it “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.”
According to Nelson’s office, Harris County — home to Houston — led the state in potential noncitizen registrations with 362 flagged voters, followed by Dallas County with 277.
Earlier this year, Nelson’s office removed 33 confirmed ineligible voters and referred their cases to Attorney General Paxton for review. These findings come amid growing efforts by Texas Republicans to strengthen election security following years of controversy surrounding voter integrity.
Governor Greg Abbott, a strong advocate for clean and transparent elections, noted that Texas has made major progress in purging its rolls of ineligible names since 2021 — the year Senate Bill 1 was signed into law. The legislation was designed to tighten mail-in ballot procedures, improve ID verification, and increase oversight of voter registration processes.
“These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including noncitizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state,” Abbott said.
He reaffirmed that state and local officials have an ongoing duty to ensure the integrity of Texas elections: “The Secretary of State and county voter registrars have an ongoing legal requirement to review the voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, and refer any potential illegal voting to the Attorney General’s Office and local authorities for investigation and prosecution. Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated.”
Abbott concluded with a strong message of confidence, saying Texas will continue to lead the nation in protecting election integrity. “We will continue to actively safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote while also aggressively protecting our elections from illegal voting,” he said.
With thousands of questionable registrations now under review, Texas officials are once again proving they are serious about ensuring every ballot cast in the state belongs to a legitimate U.S. citizen.
