In Nevada, a lawsuit alleges that Democratic Secretary of State Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar is failing to keep voting rolls clean, allowing as many as 11,000 noncitizens to be registered to vote. The Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and the Nevada GOP have filed a lawsuit against Aguilar in response to this issue.
According to the lawsuit, in 2020, 6,360 individuals listed in Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles “noncitizen file” were registered to vote, with 3,987 of them casting a ballot in the general election. Republicans claim that more than 11,000 noncitizens are currently registered to vote in the state, and over 3,700 are expected to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
Nevada transitioned to an “all mail-in” voting state in 2022, automatically sending ballots to registered voters, although early-voting locations are available for in-person voting. In the 2022 primary election, 98.4% of ballots were mailed in.
The GOP is particularly concerned about the integrity of the election process due to the close results seen in previous elections. For example, Republican Adam Laxalt lost his US Senate race by 8,000 votes in 2022, prompting the party to focus on purging ineligible voters from the rolls.
Although Aguilar’s office has designated nearly 140,000 voters as inactive, the GOP believes more needs to be done to remove noncitizens from the voting rolls. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald emphasized the importance of protecting the rights of lawful voters and preserving the integrity of elections.
While Aguilar’s office has dismissed the claims, stating that there are already safeguards in place to prevent noncitizens from voting, the GOP remains steadfast in their efforts to address the issue. The state Democratic party, named in the lawsuit, along with Aguilar and the Democratic National Committee, did not provide comments on the matter.
Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, highlighted the presence of noncitizens on voter rolls and suggested potential solutions, such as amending the National Voter Registration Act to allow private parties to sue for the removal of noncitizens from voter rolls.
Additionally, the RNC recently compelled Minnesota to remove over 1,000 potentially ineligible voters, including noncitizens, due to the state’s “automatic” voter registration policies. These voters are now listed as “inactive” pending further review of their registrations.
Ultimately, the issue of noncitizens being registered to vote in Nevada and other states underscores the importance of maintaining clean and accurate voting rolls to uphold the integrity of the electoral process. Efforts to address this issue are ongoing, with various stakeholders working to ensure that only eligible voters participate in elections.