Texas officials are asking the federal government for citizenship information on voters after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he obtained a list of approximately 454,000 individuals who are registered to vote in the state but haven’t had their citizenship verified.
In Texas, citizenship status is automatically verified when people register to vote using a driver’s license or state-issued ID, as noncitizens cannot vote but can legally hold a license or ID. Paxton said that those on the list allegedly did not use such identification, and that information could not be obtained by the Texas Department of Public Safety, leaving their status unverified.
“Although I have no doubt the vast majority of the voters on the list are citizens who are eligible to vote, I am equally certain that Texans have no way of knowing whether or not any of the voters on the list are noncitizens who are ineligible to vote,” Paxton wrote.
He pointed to a recent audit by the Texas Secretary of State that found more than 1,300 noncitizens were registered to vote in four counties the office randomly selected to investigate.
“The people on the attached list did not use a driver’s license or ID to register to vote and that information could not be obtained from the Department of Public Safety, so their citizenship status has never been verified,” he said.
Federal law says that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must respond to inquiries from federal, state, and local government agencies that seek a person’s citizenship or immigration status.
“I am confident that you will continue to comply with your legal obligations and provide the requested citizenship or immigration status to my office so that I may ensure Texas elections are fair and secure,” Paxton said.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not return a request for comment.
Paxton’s office planned to investigate the apparent illegal votes for potential legal action, Abbott’s office said at the time.
Some Republicans at the state and federal level have been focusing on the issue of noncitizen voting.
The attorney general has given U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services until Oct. 17 to comply with his request.
