The Texas Secretary of State’s Office recently moved to reexamine a subset of voter registrations that were flagged as potential noncitizens by the federal SAVE database. During a meeting with county election administrators, Christina Adkins, the state elections division director, disclosed that the office is checking whether 2,724 registered voters identified earlier on the statewide list have already submitted citizenship evidence to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). The announcement follows county reports that the federal match included people who had provided proof of citizenship at the time they registered.
State officials first sent the SAVE-generated list to counties last October after comparing more than 18 million registered voters against the federal system. Counties used that list to notify flagged registrants and to begin local investigations. Some counties later discovered that the federal match sometimes contradicted documents held by DPS, which retains copies of citizenship proof for applicants who register through the agency.
Why DPS checks were added
County election officials found instances where the SAVE match labeled a registrant as a potential noncitizen even though DPS files contained passports or other documents verifying citizenship. For example, after Travis County requested a state check of its flagged records, the Secretary of State’s Office found that 11 of 97 flagged registrants in that county had previously provided proof of citizenship to DPS. That targeted review prompted the state to begin conducting similar checks across the flagged population.
What triggered the recheck
The decision to cross-reference the SAVE results with the DPS Driver License System came after counties reported discrepancies and after a federal lawsuit filed in March argued the state should have done such verification before sending the list to local officials. The lawsuit, brought by voting rights groups and individual voters, remains pending in federal court. Meanwhile, some counties have already removed registrants who failed to respond to requests for documentation, raising concerns about accuracy and due process.
Limitations of the SAVE matches
Officials have warned that the federal SAVE roster is not infallible. Adkins told county administrators that discrepancies likely stem from outdated SAVE entries, recent naturalizations not yet reflected in the federal system, or clerical mistakes. She emphasized that no dataset is perfect and that the state cannot cancel registrations on the basis of a single automated match without additional verification steps.
Operational challenges and timing
One reason the state did not perform a full DPS check before distributing the list was practical: DPS reviews require manual examination of records, which is time-consuming. Adkins said the office wanted counties to start investigating potential mismatches without losing the limited window available before the March primary, because federal law prevents systematic voter list maintenance within 90 days of a federal election. The state’s initial choice prioritized rapid county action on what Adkins described as “low-hanging fruit.”
Reactions and next steps
In a statement provided after publication, DPS officials said the agency is coordinating with the Secretary of State’s Office to prioritize verification requests and to provide relevant driver license data as it relates to registered voters. During a recent interim House Elections Committee hearing, county officials urged lawmakers to make the cross-check with DPS the standard practice, while others asked legislators to consider the workload and resource constraints counties face when investigating flagged registrants.
The broader backdrop includes federal changes that made SAVE free and more accessible to states. That overhaul, encouraged by the prior administration, has driven wider use of the system for voter-roll checks, but it has also prompted questions about the tool’s reliability. Advocacy groups have challenged both the SAVE revisions and their application in court, arguing for stronger safeguards before relying on the database to inform voter removals.
Legislative efforts in Texas have also sought to tighten proof-of-citizenship requirements. Lawmakers introduced a bill last year that would have required documentary proof for registration and retroactively applied to the state’s entire roll, but the proposal did not pass. As the state now expands the DPS cross-checking of SAVE-flagged names, local officials, lawmakers and voting rights advocates continue to weigh accuracy, legal obligations and the administrative burden of ensuring that only eligible citizens remain registered without unfairly disenfranchising lawful voters.
The Secretary of State’s Office declined further comment beyond the county meeting remarks, and the ongoing federal litigation means policy questions about the use of the SAVE database and the appropriate safeguards for voter-list maintenance remain unresolved. Updated information was added to internal briefings and public statements, including an update published May 29, 2026, after the Texas Department of Public Safety provided an additional statement to reporters.
