Census Bureau publishes a brief claiming over 24,000 noncitizens voted in 2020
The Census Bureau released a brief stating its preliminary analysis had linked over 24,000 of the 2020 election's voter records to noncitizen status, with over 128 million records matched to citizens; democracy advocates criticised the analysis.
What happened
The brief, dated August 2026 and released on 18 August, reports that the Bureau's beginning analysis matched over 128 million of nearly 160 million 2020 voter records to citizens with high confidence, linked over 24,000 voter records to noncitizen status, and notes that further records remain to be analyzed. Democracy advocates, among them David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, criticised the brief. The release follows a run of federal documents on the same theme, including the DHS public notice of 31 July filed alongside this row.
CORRECTION (2026-08-30): this entry previously stated the Bureau published the brief without disclosing its methodology, following the Guardian's 23 August report. The brief itself — file created 13 August, unmodified since its 18 August release — carries “Appendix 2 on Methodology”. The entry now cites the brief directly; the criticism of the analysis stands on its own.
Why it matters
A federal statistical agency putting a number on noncitizen voting supplies the factual predicate on which federal intervention in election administration would rest. The Bureau labels the figure a beginning analysis with over 32 million voter records still to be analyzed, and asserts in the same brief a statutory authority to compile and publish statistics on election crime.