Voting rights groups sue Texas over alleged illegal voter purge The lawsuit alleges Texas' use of a federal immigration database to review voter eligibility could have put eligible voters at risk. A group of voting and civil rights organizations is suing Texas, saying the state used flawed data and unfair methods to flag and potentially remove eligible voters from its rolls.At the time, Secretary of State Jane Nelson said her office had compared the state's voter registration list of more than 18 million registered voters againstIt's unclear whether any voters have been removed from the rolls as a result of the state's findings. The Texas Secretary of State's Office declined to comment on Monday. The groups behind the lawsuit argue the state of Texas relied on outdated or unreliable data that can wrongly flag people — especially naturalized U.S. citizens — as noncitizens. Afound the SAVE database can contain incomplete information and warned that states using it to maintain voter rolls raises concerns about accuracy and privacy, including the risk that eligible voters could be wrongly removed. The lawsuit also alleges the state didn't double-check its own records, like driver's license data, which could confirm whether someone is a U.S. citizen. "Voter purge efforts relying upon faulty citizenship data and conducted outside of the requirements established by Congress risk regulating American citizens born abroad to a second-class status where their right to vote is neither protected nor guaranteed," the lawsuit read., counties were allegedly given little guidance last fall on how to verify voters' eligibility, leading to checks that weren't conducted in a uniform way across the state. As a result, some voters were asked to prove their citizenship within a short timeframe or risk being removed from the rolls, according to court records. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to stop the state from using the SAVE database and to require stronger safeguards to protect voters. It also seeks to restore any voters who may have been improperly removed.to verify the immigration status of people applying for federally funded benefits. This held true until about a year ago, when federal officialsLucio Vasquez is a breaking news reporter for The Texas Newsroom. Based in Houston, he covers a wide range of urgent stories, from natural disasters and statewide political developments to social justice and criminal justice issues.