Nevada election chief disputes federal data on noncitizen voters
Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar argues the Department of Homeland Security figures are too vague to verify, while a Supreme Court rejection in California signals a legal victory for state counting methods.
By Javier Sanders ·
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar rejected federal claims that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in the state as Nevadans cast ballots on Tuesday. Aguilar said the data provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacked the necessary detail to verify specific voters and that the timing of the claims creates unnecessary fear among the electorate.
The dispute stems from a July announcement by DHS, which stated that as many as 15,903 noncitizens were registered to vote in Nevada. The department later clarified that number was a "ceiling" and identified only 185 potential noncitizens in a subsequent review. Aguilar said his office attempted to use the provided data but found it incompatible with the state's current voter identification system.
"We will comply with any verifiable real data," Aguilar said. He explained that the records sent by DHS appeared to be from prior elections, before Nevada assigned new identification numbers to voters. His team could not determine whether the data predated the 2024 election cycle.
The legal battle over noncitizen voting is also playing out in California. On Friday, a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration's request to force the state to set aside mail ballots sent to approximately 20,000 people it identified as likely noncitizens. The court cited potentially catastrophic effects on California's voting system. The administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal on Monday.
In a parallel action, the Justice Department subpoenaed employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. Those employees were ordered to appear in court on Wednesday with documents related to the administration's claims about the state's voter rolls. Aguilar noted that the Justice Department has not filed a similar lawsuit in Nevada.
"We are prepared to litigate as soon as that request comes, but I don't think it's going to come," Aguilar said. He described the federal efforts as a tactic driven by a fear of the midterm election outcome. "They know they're going to be held accountable for their failed leadership of the American people."
DHS officials maintain that the agency is focused on removing noncitizens who vote and protecting the votes of U.S. citizens. In an emailed statement, a DHS spokesperson said the agency shared a list of 6,218 individuals with Nevada at the state's request. The spokesperson noted that this list represents a subset of the initial 15,903 registrants who matched records in DHS files.
The federal push follows President Donald Trump's July 16 address, in which he claimed DHS found about 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections. He later specified that approximately 250,000 of those were in Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Research organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, have historically found noncitizen voting to be extremely rare, with the Heritage Foundation listing roughly 100 such cases nationwide.
Aguilar, a Democrat, is also under investigation by the Justice Department, which issued at least seven voter-related subpoenas earlier this year. He stated that his office is meeting its legal responsibilities in those cases.
Voters in Nevada are also deciding on Question 7, which would require voters to show identification at the polls. The measure passed with 73% of the vote in 2024 and must win a majority again to amend the state constitution.
