Nevada’s Secretary of State says her office believes 21 noncitizens could have voted in the state in the 2016 election.
Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske (R) released the information Wednesday after she accused the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles last week of accepting voting applications from people who provided documents indicating they were not U.S. citizens. The DMV director responded to the letter by noting that federal law requires the department to provide applications to anyone who applies for or renews a driver’s license, and that it’s the responsibility of the Secretary of State’s office to certify the eligibility of voters.
In her Wednesday statement, Cegavske acknowledged the DMV had actually assisted her office in identifying potential illegal votes. In March the department provided a list of just over 100 people who had registered to vote while also providing evidence at the DMV they weren’t citizens.
“After determining that 21 individuals from that list voted, this information was given to investigators with the Secretary of State’s office,” said Cegavske’s office in a statement. “Based upon the information obtained to date we have evidence that three non-citizens illegally registered and voted in Clark County in the last election.”
However, the office did not provide definitive proof of voter fraud.