Nevada demands DHS explain sweeping noncitizen voter roll claims

Nevada’s top election official demanded that the Department of Homeland Security substantiate its claim that nearly 16,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in the state — pressing the Trump administration to explain how it produced the figure and warning that flawed data could jeopardize eligible voters.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar (D) said DHS failed to identify the people it flagged, disclose its data sources and explain how it matched Social Security numbers to publicly available voter records, which don’t have any.

“We want to better understand your claims that thousands of alleged noncitizens on Nevada’s voter rolls, again, none of which you have identified,” Aguilar wrote. “How did your department match Social Security numbers to Nevada registrants, and what data sources did you use if not the voter information provided by the NVSOS?”

DHS told Nevada earlier this month that a “preliminary review” of publicly available voter registration records found as many as 15,903 suspected noncitizens on the state’s rolls. The department also claimed that 8,576 registrants matched people in its immigration files by name, date of birth, address and Social Security number.

Nevada demanded details about whether DHS used exact or approximate matches and whether it relied on artificial intelligence. The state also asked how the department accounted for common names, shared addresses, data-entry errors and people who became naturalized citizens after the federal records were created.

Aguilar further asked whether DHS performed any case-by-case review before labeling thousands of registered voters as noncitizens and what error rate the department assigned to its matching process.

The questions directly challenge the basis of claims Mullin made after President Donald Trump delivered a widely debunked address alleging foreign interference and mass voter fraud in U.S. elections earlier this month.

The following day, Mullin claimed DHS had identified 250,000 noncitizens registered across Nevada, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He did not explain the methodology behind the figure or allege that all — or any — of the people identified had actually voted.

“If you are an illegal or you’re voting illegally, we will hunt you down, we will find you, and we will prosecute you,” Mullin said during the press conference.

He also threatened consequences for states that refuse to cooperate with the administration’s voter roll campaign, including the loss of federal election-security support. Mullin said DHS would prioritize reviews of states that declined to participate and suggested election officials could face fines, penalties or even prison.

“If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time,” Mullin said. “We are not going to spend taxpayer dollars reimbursing a state that is refusing to secure their elections.”

DHS’s letter to Nevada similarly asserted that allowing one noncitizen to vote “cancels the vote of one U.S. citizen” and asked Aguilar to confirm by July 30 that the state intended to collaborate with the department.

Aguilar said Nevada already requires applicants to affirm under penalty of perjury that they are citizens and has procedures to investigate and prosecute voter fraud. He also emphasized that preventing eligible citizens — particularly naturalized voters and people with mismatching government records — from being falsely classified and removed.

“We remain committed to ensuring that non-citizens are not registered or permitted to vote,” Aguilar wrote. “At the same time, we are equally committed to protecting eligible U.S. citizens — including naturalized citizens and citizens whose records may be imperfect — from being wrongly labeled as ‘non-citizens’ or subjected to improper removal efforts.”

Nevada’s letter pointed to federal court findings that DHS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database has erroneously flagged citizens as noncitizens. The state asked whether DHS relied on that system to generate its latest allegations.

“DHS does not dispute that the SAVE system has erroneously flagged citizens as noncitizens,” the letter cites.

Aguilar warned that any collaboration must comply with the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits systematic voter removals within 90 days of a federal election. He said Nevada would consider its next steps only after DHS provides the requested evidence and methodological details.

“Our office is open to good faith collaboration that truly enhances the accuracy of our voter rolls and excludes ineligible non-citizens,” Aguilar wrote.