Georgia Audit Finds 20 Noncitizens Registered to Vote Out of 8 Million in the State Roll

Georgia's Secretary of State revealed Wednesday that 20 noncitizens registered to vote after a review of millions of registered voters. Authorities also opened case files on another 156 individuals whose citizenship status requires additional investigation.

The 20 noncitizens were removed from the state's voter rolls, which include over 8 million eligible voters, and referred to law enforcement. Nine of them had voted in the past, said Republican Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's Secretary of State.

Authorities could not immediately disclose when those nine people voted due to ongoing investigations.

The announcement comes as various Republican leaders nationwide question the validity of the U.S. electoral process, citing noncitizen voters and electoral fraud as major concerns that could affect the election's results.

Such claims have resulted in threats and attacks against election personnel and Democratic campaigns, prompting increased security measures at voting centers. Most recently, in Arizona, a man was arrested following a series of shootings at a Democratic Party Campaign office.

"There's no proof that there is this overwhelming number of noncitizens on the rolls," Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer in the secretary of state's office told CNN. "Because, the reality is, if you're a noncitizen and you're a legal resident and you're on a path to citizenship, if you try to register to vote, you will never get to be a citizen. It is very high risk, very low reward."

During a Wednesday news conference, the Secretary of State also addressed claims of voting machines allegedly changing votes, saying there was "zero evidence" behind the rumors amplified by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

"That claim was a lie through 2020, it is a lie now," Sterling said.

Georgia is a swing state both presidential campaigns are focusing on. Other states that voted for current Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020 and former Republican President Donald Trump in 2016 include Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.