Lawsuit Challenges Texas Voter Roll Review, Abbott Pushes Back

A coalition of voting rights groups has filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas, alleging that a voter roll review program is unlawfully targeting eligible voters and risking improper removals ahead of upcoming elections.

The lawsuit, filed March 26 by Campaign Legal Center on behalf of the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Common Cause, challenges the state's use of a federal immigration database to identify potential noncitizens on voter rolls.

At the center of the dispute is Texas's use of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) SAVE system, which plaintiffs argue contains outdated or incomplete data that could misidentify naturalized citizens as ineligible voters.

"Recently naturalized citizens are disproportionately targeted in this unlawful program that Texas has implemented because the data that the state is relying on from SAVE is often outdated and may still mark them as noncitizens," said Danielle Lang of the Campaign Legal Center, arguing the process violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

The lawsuit also claims the program is being applied inconsistently across counties and that state officials failed to cross-check federal data against existing Texas records before flagging voters for potential removal.

The legal challenge follows a 2025 directive from the office of Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, which instructed counties to review voter registration using SAVE system data as part of an effort to ensure only eligible voters remain on the rolls.

Advocates argue the approach risks disenfranchising lawful voters.

"Every Texas voter deserves to cast a ballot without fear of being wrongly targeted," said Anthony Gutierrez of Common Cause Texas.

Texas officials, however, are defending the program. Governor Greg Abbott (R) dismissed the lawsuit, framing it as opposition to basic integrity measures.

"So-called 'voting rights' groups are suing Texas to stop verifying that only U.S. citizens are on our voter rolls," wrote Abbott on social media. "Only U.S. citizens can vote in Texas... We will fight this lawsuit, and we will win."

The case sets up a high-stakes legal battle over election integrity and voting rights in Texas, with potential national implications as courts weigh how states can verify voter eligibility without risking unlawful disenfranchisement.