Utah Audit Finds 27 Noncitizens on Voter Rolls

Utah released the results of a year-long audit of its voter rolls on Wednesday, saying it confirmed that 99.72% of registered voters are U.S. citizens. The review, launched in April 2025 by the office of Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, examined more than 2 million voter records. It identified 27 noncitizens, and officials said 13 of them had cast ballots.

The audit was published as Utah faces a legal dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice over the state’s voter-registration data. Federal officials have argued Utah has not provided enough information in response to requests for voter records. Utah officials say they have complied by providing publicly available voter rolls and that federal calculations of the state’s voter-removal rate relied on incomplete data.

Officials said the 27 noncitizens were removed from the rolls. The audit also identified 25 “probable noncitizens” who will have 30 days to provide proof of citizenship or be removed, according to the lieutenant governor’s office.

New law would limit some voters to federal-only ballots

Separately, the audit found 5,007 registered voters whose citizenship could not be verified through available records. The lieutenant governor’s office said many of those voters registered decades ago, before Utah required a driver’s license number or Social Security number as part of the process. Officials said the voters are believed to be concentrated in rural parts of the state.

Under a new state law, HB 209, those 5,007 voters will be notified and asked to provide proof of citizenship. If they do not, they would be limited to casting federal-only ballots. Officials said those individuals will not be removed from the voter rolls.

Justice Department lawsuit challenges Utah’s response to records requests

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Utah in February 2026, alleging the state’s refusal to provide more detailed voter information violated the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The dispute followed earlier requests from federal officials, including a July 2025 letter from the department’s civil rights division seeking Utah’s voter-registration records.

Utah has said its voter-removal rate is 5.4%, compared with a 0.08% rate federal officials calculated based on incomplete county reporting. In response to federal requests, Utah said it provided publicly available voter rolls and disputed the federal figures.

Officials said the federal push for more detailed records is part of a broader effort involving five states. The next steps in the Utah case will be shaped by court proceedings and by how the state implements HB 209 notifications tied to the audit findings.