Texas Secretary of State Stirs Controversy with Viral Voter Fraud Allegations

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Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson has sparked renewed discussions on election integrity following her recent social media post. She revealed that her office had identified over 2,000 “potential noncitizens” registered to vote in Texas by cross-referencing state voter rolls with an immigration database.

Nelson’s announcement, made on the social platform X, stated that her office had flagged 2,724 individuals as “potential noncitizen” voters. This was the result of comparing the Texas voter roll with data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database. The post quickly went viral, garnering millions of views, coinciding with the start of early voting in Texas and several other states.

However, the SAVE database used for this comparison is not designed to confirm citizenship status. Instead, it merely highlights immigration status, with matches that can be incomplete or outdated. Importantly, none of the individuals identified have been confirmed as ineligible to vote. Nelson’s office emphasized that local Texas counties have a 30-day period to conduct their investigations into the eligibility of these voters.

Historically, Texas has faced criticism for reporting exaggerated figures concerning election fraud. The Texas Tribune notes that a similar review in 2019 resulted in 95,000 flagged voters, most of whom were later found to be U.S. citizens, prompting an apology from the state. In 2024, Governor Greg Abbott claimed that 6,500 noncitizens had been removed from voter rolls, although it was later clarified that only 581 were confirmed as noncitizens.

Election experts have said cases of illegal voting remain extremely rare and database matches like these often include people who have since become naturalized citizens.

With voting already underway, officials have warned that posts like these can fuel confusion and distrust long before any results are in.