After Gaining Access to SAVE Database, Secretary Nelson Refers Potential Noncitizen Voting Cases for Investigation

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson today referred to the Office of Attorney General for investigation the names of 33 potential noncitizens who voted in the November 2024 General Election. The referral comes within weeks of Texas gaining access to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s SAVE Database.

“Gaining access to this database has been a game-changer. Not only have we been able to identify individuals who should not have voted in the last election, we have also been able to confirm naturalization of dozens more,” Secretary Nelson said.

In March, President Trump issued an elections integrity executive order that directed the Department of Homeland Security to provide free access to the SAVE database to all states. Having worked to gain this access for more than a year, Texas was among the first states to log in and recently joined a pilot program working with DHS, USCIS and DOGE to improve the database’s functionality.

“We are in the early stages of this pilot program, but we already see promising results. This may be the most current and accurate data set there is when it comes to citizenship verification,” Secretary Nelson said.

Citizenship is a requirement to vote under the Election Code Sec. 11.002. In November, Texans will vote on Senate Joint Resolution 37, which would add this requirement to the Texas Constitution.

The Secretary of State is required to report potential criminal violations to the Office of the Attorney General, which has authority to investigate these matters under the Election Code.

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