A review by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has found that about 278,000 noncitizens were illegally registered to vote in U.S. federal elections, according to the White House.
The findings resulted from a DHS review of state voter rolls and public records. The White House said the actual number could be higher because some states did not share their voter files with the federal agency.
In his presidential address on July 16, President Donald Trump said he had ordered DHS “to notify every state about noncitizens on their voter rolls and direct them to remove all ineligible voters from the lists immediately.”
“If you look at voting today, it’s in such bad shape in so many states. And we are committing to fix it, and we’re also committing to be working with those states and local jurisdictions to help them fix and patch non-tactical vulnerabilities before the midterm elections,” the president said.
“We have very important elections coming up. We want those elections to be honest.”
DHS said in a one-page document released by the White House that more than 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states—California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada—citing its review of public data files.
The document also shows that more than 400,000 voters were listed as deceased in 10 states—Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, Idaho, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, and Kansas—which the agency identified as “proactive SAVE user states.”
The SAVE system, also known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, is an online service used by state and government agencies to verify immigration status and citizenship of applicants seeking benefits or licenses in the United States.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office later posted on X, dismissing the claims and defending the state’s election process.
“California law is clear: You MUST be a U.S. citizen to vote state and federal elections. Voter fraud is EXTREMELY RARE — and almost always committed by U.S. citizens,” it stated.
“Donald Trump’s Administration has repeatedly pushed false and misleading claims about elections. They have provided NO evidence to support these new ‘claims.’”
