The Trump administration has aggressively pursued claims of widespread noncitizen voting, suing California and demanding action from other states. However, election officials in California, Washington, and Nevada, among others, have stated that the lists of noncitizens provided by federal authorities are inaccurate and unreliable.
President Donald Trump, in a primetime address in July, warned that some 278,000 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote in federal elections, a figure he suggested was significantly higher. This claim prompted federal intervention, including a lawsuit against California and a push for states to investigate individuals on federal lists.
In California, the Justice Department initially claimed over 190,000 noncitizen voters were on the state's rolls, a figure later reduced to 20,000 by the time a lawsuit was filed. State and local officials, however, question even this reduced number. A preliminary review in Los Angeles County found that nearly 40% of individuals on a federal list appeared to be U.S.-born citizens, and 71.2% had no voting history.
Federal Judge David Carter, overseeing the case in California, rejected the Justice Department's request for emergency intervention, citing the administration's "unreliability" and "lack of credibility." Following this, the Justice Department sent letters to California counties, requesting assistance in identifying noncitizens on voter rolls within 48 hours. County officials who have begun reviewing these lists have largely reported finding inaccuracies, including individuals not registered to vote or lacking sufficient information for verification.
In Washington state, federal prosecutors alleged that around 400 noncitizens had voted in the fall elections, calling the figure "the tip of the iceberg." Washington's Secretary of State, Steve Hobbs, responded by stating that a preliminary review of the Justice Department's list contained U.S. citizens and individuals not registered to vote. Hobbs also noted the lack of information regarding how the federal data was collected and cautioned that purging voters close to an election risks disenfranchising eligible citizens.
In August, federal officials informed Nevada that as many as 15,903 noncitizens might be registered to vote. During a video conference with Nevada officials, Department of Homeland Security representatives indicated that the figures had not undergone a full manual review. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar expressed skepticism, stating, "There is no trust in that relationship," and criticized the spread of misinformation about election integrity.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson maintained that their work was a service to Nevada's citizens and accused state officials of downplaying the scope of the issue, asserting that the initial figures represented only a partial review of immigration data.