Chicago – August 19, 2026
Experts have raised serious concerns about a preliminary U.S. Census Bureau analysis that President Donald Trump is citing to revive claims of widespread noncitizen voting in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump said on social media that the review found more than 24,000 noncitizens among 128 million voter records and predicted the figure would rise after an additional 32 million records are examined. However, the seven-page report does not establish that all identified individuals cast illegal ballots.
The analysis reportedly relied on a commercial voter database matched with federal administrative records. Election specialists say such comparisons can produce substantial errors because Census data cannot be reliably matched with voter files using unique identifiers. David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research described the methodology as fundamentally flawed.
The report has also drawn scrutiny because it was not conducted by Census Bureau career officials, while individuals linked to the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute were reportedly involved.
Even if the preliminary figure were accurate, 24,000 cases would represent less than 0.02 percent of the nearly 160 million ballots cast in 2020—an amount far too small to alter the election’s outcome.
