Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Aug. 21 that his office has opened an investigation to determine if organizations operating in the state may be unlawfully registering noncitizens to vote in violation of state and federal law.
Investigators from the Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit recently conducted undercover operations to identify potential voter registration of noncitizens in Texas. The investigators found various nonprofit organizations, located outside state Department of Public Safety driver’s license offices, were operating booths and offering assistance with voter registrations to individuals doing business at the offices, according to a press release from Paxton’s office.
Paxton’s office pointed out that all citizens already had the opportunity to register to vote as part of the process of renewing or being issued an identification or driver’s license, so he questioned the nonprofits’ motives.
“Texans are deeply troubled by the possibility that organizations purporting to assist with voter registration are illegally registering noncitizens to vote in our elections,” Paxton said in the press release.
Paxton’s office indicated the undercover operations have taken place throughout major metropolitan areas of the state and are continuing.
Texas is not the only state investigating noncitizens and voting registration. In this presidential election year, several states have already identified thousands of noncitizens on their voter rolls.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced on Aug. 21 that he formally referred evidence of noncitizen voter registrations to the Ohio attorney general for further review and potential prosecution.
“I’m duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country do not vote in our elections,” said LaRose in a press release. “We’ve so far identified 597 individuals who’ve registered to vote in Ohio despite not being citizens of the United States, as our state constitution requires. The evidence includes 138 individuals who appear to have cast a ballot in an Ohio election during the time state and federal records show they lacked citizenship status. The law requires me to refer these individuals to the attorney general, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
In addition to the noncitizens found on the voter registration database, LaRose removed nearly 155,000 registrations that were abandoned or inactive for at least the past four consecutive years.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen also found thousands of noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls.
On Aug. 13, Allen announced he identified 3,251 individuals registered to vote in his state who were identified as noncitizens by the Department of Homeland Secretary. Allen instructed the Boards of Registrars in all 67 counties to remove all noncitizens from the voter rolls.
“I have been clear that I will not tolerate the participation of noncitizens in our elections,” Allen said in the press release. “I have even gone so far as to testify before a United States Senate committee regarding the importance of this issue. We have examined the current voter file in an attempt to identify anyone who appears on that list that has been issued a noncitizen identification number.”
Allen repeatedly sent requests to the federal government for a list of noncitizens currently residing in Alabama, and his requests were denied. He said it is possible some of the noncitizens may have since become naturalized citizens and were eligible to vote, but the federal government did not cooperate.
The secretary of state’s office said it will allow any of those who have become naturalized citizens to update their information and once verified, they will be able to vote.
Allen provided the list of registered voters identified as being noncitizens to the Alabama attorney general for further investigation and possible criminal prosecution.
“This is not a onetime review of our voter file. We will continue to conduct such reviews to do everything possible to make sure that everyone on our file is an eligible voter,” Allen said. “I am hopeful that in the near future the federal government will change course and be helpful to states as we work to protect our elections.”
In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order this month to ensure election security and said in the announcement, “Under my administration, Virginia has made unprecedented strides in improving the accuracy of our voter list, including substantial updates for removal of deceased voters and protection against noncitizen registration.”
Virginia removed 6,303 noncitizens from its voter rolls it found from January 2022 to July 2024. Youngkin’s order also indicated the state removed 79,867 deceased voters.
In Minnesota, home of Gov. Tim Walz, the current Democratic vice presidential nominee, the Minnesota GOP and RNC recently called for an investigation after a noncitizen received a primary ballot. Both groups demanded citizenship verification before registering to vote and an immediate review of the state’s voter rolls.
“Minnesotans deserve full confidence that their elections are secure and noncitizens have no vote in the future of our country. We will take every step necessary to ensure that the failures in the system are brought to light and immediately resolved,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley in a press release. “Noncitizen voting is illegal across America, and that must be enforced at every turn.”
