New Florida Study Shows Non-U.S. citizens have been registering to vote and voting in Florida elections for decades
A Joint Task Force of election integrity advocates in Florida took a novel approach to understanding and quantifying the risks of non-U.S. citizen voting. They did a public records request to obtain a list of non-U.S. citizens who were removed from Florida’s voter roll because they admitted to or were proven to be non-U.S. citizens and used election records to examine their voting and registration patterns, identify elections impacted, assess if they were held accountable, and estimate how many are likely still on the voter roll using multiple government data sources.
The Joint Task Force findings are alarming and enlightening:
- Non-U.S. citizens have been registering to vote and voting in Florida elections for decades because U.S. citizenship has not been verified.
- Florida’s government policies and programs, such as high school pre-registration drives for 16-17-year-olds, have contributed to the large numbers of non-U.S. citizens on Florida’s voter roll.
- 5,612 non-U.S. citizens removed from Florida’s voter roll between 2020 and 2Q26 were on Florida’s voter roll an average of 11 years and were largely removed at the voters’ request (a necessary step for naturalization).
This number pales in comparison to the 10’s of thousands estimated to still be on the voter roll and millions more that can easily register to vote. The pace of non-U.S. citizen voter roll removals greatly accelerated after President Trump’s Executive order 14248, but it will still take many years using the current approach to remove the large numbers still on the voter roll.
- 1,827 of the non-U.S. citizens removed from Florida’s voter roll cast a total of 7,035 ballots – enough ballots to have impacted election outcomes in small and large county races that had a narrow margin of victory. Races impacted include a U.S. congress and a school board seat.
- Only a handful of non-U.S citizens who violated Florida and federal law when they registered to vote and/or voted were held accountable (as of YE2025), and a significant number re-registered after being removed. The Florida Office of Election Crimes and Security needs to prioritize investigating and prosecuting non-U.S. citizen voters and refer those who exceed the Florida statute of limitations to federal authorities.
- The Florida SAVE Act will help deter new non-U.S. citizen voter registration but leaves a loophole through which they may vote while their citizenship is unverified and fails to create a systematic removal process or timeline. More work needs to be done legislatively.
The study dispels many myths promoted by the media, election officials, and politicians. If you have been led to believe these myths, question your sources:
| Myth | Truth |
| Non-U.S. citizens can’t register to vote in Florida | · Non-U.S. citizens have been able to register to vote in Florida for decades by checking the “I am a U.S. citizen box” because U.S. citizenship was not verified.
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| Election officials lack effective tools to verify citizenship status of new voter registration applicants | · The Florida DMV classifies every driver license and state ID holder as a U.S. citizen, immigrant (e.g. green card holder), or non-immigrant (e.g. visa holder) based on documentation provided and stores the documentation. DMV data can be used by election officials.
ADVERTISEMENT · The federal SAVE database can be used to verify citizenship. It was enhanced and made available to more election officials in 2025.
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| Florida and federal laws that make non-U.S. citizen voter registration or voting in U.S. elections a felony deter false claims of citizenship | · The risk of detection has been low and most violators identified were not reported to law enforcement. Between 2022 and 2025, only 17 individuals who lied on their voter registration application were reported as arrested or convicted. This includes non-U.S. citizens, felons, and others who violated Florida statute 104.011.
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| The risk of being denied naturalization and being deported will deter non-U.S. citizen voter registration and voting | · Requesting to be removed from the voter roll before applying for naturalization, stating you are a non-U.S. citizen who was mistakenly registered is often used as an effective means to overcome the naturalization barrier – many of the 5,612 are likely self-reported to enable naturalization. · In 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a stated policy that those who have been unknowingly registered to vote will be forgiven. |
| Non-U.S. citizens can’t register to vote in Florida because they can’t get driver licenses or state ID cards | · DMV records reveal over 2 million Florida original driver licenses and state ID cards were issued to non-U.S. citizens between 2022 and 2025, and a total of 7M originals, renewals, and replacements were issued between 2020 and 2Q26. · Voter registration can also be done by providing a social security number and millions of non-U.S. citizens have been issued a social security number. ADVERTISEMENT · A registrant can claim they have neither ID and still register to vote.
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| Non-U.S. citizen voting is a problem in the larger counties, not small and medium counties | · Non-U.S. citizens have been identified by election officials on the voter rolls of 58 of the 67 Florida counties studied. · Florida ID have been issued to non-U.S. citizens in all counties.
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| Non-U.S. citizen voting helps my preferred party, so there is no need to be concerned | · Non-U.S. citizens are registered in all major parties and vote in general, primary, and special elections. · Non-U.S. citizen party affiliation was 38% Democrat,19% Republican, and 39% No Party Affiliation.
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| Non-U.S. citizens are not really voting; others are voting for them using vote-by-mail | · Over 75% of non-U.S. citizen ballots were cast in-person.
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| The number of violators is so small it won’t impact election outcomes | · Voting records of removed non-U.S. citizens demonstrated that the outcome of elections with narrow margins can be impacted in small and large counties
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| There is nothing more that can be done before the federal SAVE America Act is passed | · Florida can enact policies under current laws that will immediately reduce the risk of non-U.S. citizens voting in Florida’s 2026 General Election
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| Florida’s SAVE Act fixes the problem | · The Florida SAVE Act is not in effect until AFTER the 2026 General Election. · The Florida SAVE Act must be amended for effective and timely removal of non-U.S. citizens from the voter roll and prevention of new registrations and voting.
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Florida’s Office of Election Crimes and Security and Attorney General have been notified of the study findings, provided a detailed report, offered the supporting data, and recommended actions. No response has been received yet. Updates to this article will be issued when actions are taken or authorities make a statement. If you are a Florida resident, call your government officials and ask them to make addressing the risk of non-U.S. citizen voting a top priority.
Link to full report: Florida Non-U.S. Citizen Voting Report