Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar calls federal claims of noncitizen voter registration unfounded as voters head to polls

What happened

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar is pushing back against Trump administration claims that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in the state, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Speaking Monday, Nov. 2, at a press conference at Las Vegas City Hall, Aguilar said the federal data his office received could not be used to verify voters.

He also argued that such claims frighten the public. Claims made without data or methodology, he said, are a problem "because that scares voters. And that's inappropriate and that's wrong, and we're going to stand up and protect that," according to the Sun.

Where the federal numbers came from

Shifting figures from DHS

The Department of Homeland Security claimed in July that as many as 15,903 noncitizens were registered to vote in Nevada. The Sun, citing the New York Times, reported that the department later told Aguilar's office it had identified 185 potential noncitizens. DHS described the initial figure as a "ceiling."

The DHS announcement followed President Donald Trump's July 16 prime-time address. In that speech he said DHS had found about 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections. The next day, DHS said about 250,000 of them were in four states: Nevada, California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

What DHS says now

In an emailed statement to the Sun, a DHS spokesperson said the agency shared a list of 6,218 individuals with Nevada. The spokesperson said Nevada requested a subset smaller than the 15,903 registrants first identified. The statement said DHS was helping narrow a list of nearly 2.3 million registered voters.

The spokesperson said the agency is "laser focused on prosecuting and removing aliens who vote and preventing the dilution of votes of U.S. citizens."

Why Aguilar says the data fell short

Outdated voter numbers

Aguilar said his office tried to check the list, but the data was not what it needed. He said the information came from prior elections, before Nevada's new system assigned voters brand new numbers. His office could not get clarification on whether the data was from before or after 2024. "We will comply with any verifiable real data," he said, according to the Sun.

No Nevada lawsuit so far

Aguilar, a Democrat, said the Justice Department has not filed a lawsuit in Nevada like the one it filed in California, and he does not believe one would succeed. "We're prepared to litigate as soon as that request comes, but I don't think it's going to come," he said. The Sun reported he was referring to the administration's demands to set aside ballots of alleged or suspected noncitizens while voting is underway.

Aguilar also said he is under investigation by the Justice Department, which issued at least seven "voter-related" subpoenas earlier this year. "We are meeting our legal responsibilities in those cases," he said.

The California case

The Justice Department sued California on Oct. 15 to stop the state from counting mail ballots sent to about 20,000 people it calls likely noncitizens, the Sun reported. A federal appeals court rejected that effort Friday, citing "potentially catastrophic effects" on California's voting system. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the administration's appeal Monday.

In a separate action, the Justice Department subpoenaed employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. The subpoenas order them to appear in court Wednesday with documents related to the administration's claims.

What research shows

Noncitizens are barred from voting under state and federal law, and states have processes to verify the citizenship of people who register. The Sun noted that multiple research groups, including the Brennan Center for Justice, have found noncitizen voting to be extremely rare. A database kept by the conservative Heritage Foundation lists roughly 100 cases nationwide.

Voters are also deciding Tuesday 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 Nevada Constitution. For details on casting a ballot today, see our Election Day voting guide.

What to watch next

• Results for Question 7, the voter ID measure, which must win a majority again to amend the Nevada Constitution.
• Whether the Justice Department files a Nevada lawsuit like its California case. Aguilar said his office is prepared to litigate.
• The Wednesday court appearance ordered for Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder employees.
• The Justice Department investigation of Aguilar, which includes at least seven voter-related subpoenas.