Louisiana Finds 79 Noncitizens Voted Among 390 Illegally Registered

Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry announced the findings of an investigation into non-citizens registered to vote in the state, revealing 390 individuals on voter rolls who were not eligible, with 79 having voted in at least one election since the 1980s. This investigation, initiated in May, utilized the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which was made available free of charge under the Trump administration, allowing state officials to verify citizenship status efficiently. While non-citizen voting represents a very small fraction of the approximately 2.9 million registered voters, Landry emphasized that even a few illegal votes can impact tightly contested local elections. Those identified as non-citizens have been notified and given a chance to respond; failure to do so results in removal from voter rolls and referral to state and federal authorities for legal action. Landry assured the public that these instances do not indicate a systemic problem in Louisiana but stressed the importance of maintaining accurate voter rolls to preserve election integrity. The Secretary of State’s office continues to work with federal agencies including the FBI and Homeland Security to pursue prosecution where applicable and has implemented new legislation requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration.