Nevada Rebukes DHS Over False Noncitizen Voter Claims

Nevada election officials have formally rebuked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after determining that all 185 individuals on a federal list of alleged noncitizen voters were actually lawful citizens. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and Deputy Attorney General Greg D. Ott accused the agency of attempting to intimidate officials with unsupported claims. This dispute follows assertions by President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that over 270,000 noncitizens were registered across four states, including Nevada, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Parallel to these disputes, a Reuters report found that more than 30,000 self-declared noncitizens were mistakenly added to voter rolls across a dozen states since 2000. These registrations were attributed to software glitches and clerical errors during driver's license and state ID applications. In New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherrill disclosed that a technology glitch added approximately 6,600 noncitizens between June 2023 and June 2024, though fewer than 400 cast ballots.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah has used these findings to advocate for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for registration and mandate photo identification at polls. While the act has passed the House, it remains stalled in the Senate. Lee argues that current laws prohibiting noncitizen voting are nearly impossible to enforce, while critics and some experts suggest that bureaucratic failures would persist regardless of the new legislation.