Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo urged state election officials to utilize the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to confirm voter eligibility, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for enhanced federal verification tools. In a letter addressed to Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, Lombardo pressed for individualized inquiries permitted under the National Voter Registration Act ahead of upcoming elections.
Supreme Court Ruling on the SAVE System
The push by Governor Lombardo follows a September 25 U.S. Supreme Court decision that stayed a lower court order blocking the use of the enhanced SAVE system. According to the court’s findings, existing federal law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to respond to state and local eligibility inquiries, establishing that Congress explicitly permitted this specific type of information sharing. Writing to Secretary Aguilar, Governor Lombardo emphasized that states bear the primary responsibility for administering elections, stating that it remains contingent upon Nevada to work alongside the federal government to ensure every registered voter holds lawful citizenship.
Secretary of State Response and Security Concerns
Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar pushed back against the governor’s request, issuing a public statement detailing significant concerns regarding the reliability of the federal database. Aguilar asserted that state and local election officials already maintain rigorous safeguards to prevent ineligible individuals from casting ballots, noting that fraudulent registration carries felony penalties in Nevada. Pointing to recent implementation issues in states like Texas and Missouri, Aguilar stated that the SAVE system frequently flags eligible U.S. citizens as ineligible, creating administrative chaos and discriminatory barriers to voting.
“We cannot and will not risk violating someone’s Constitutional right to vote,” Aguilar stated, adding that any claims of a widespread noncitizen voting problem are false and actively undermine public trust in democratic systems.
Bipartisan Voter Sentiment on Eligibility
To support his directive, Lombardo’s letter cited a Pew Research Center survey conducted between April 20 and April 26, 2026. The national survey reported that 85% of Americans view it as essential that ineligible voters are blocked from casting ballots. The data demonstrated strong bipartisan backing for that principle, showing that 92% of surveyed Republicans and 79% of Democrats agree on the importance of strict eligibility verification.
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