It is unclear exactly how many might not be U.S. citizens and whether that number will be available in the future. In its notice to counties, the secretary of state’s office said the names should be considered “WEAK” matches, using all capital letters for emphasis.

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That means counties may now choose to investigate the eligibility of the people who were flagged, which would require them to send a notice to each person asking for proof of citizenship within 30 days or take no action. By law, the counties are not allowed to automatically revoke a voter’s registration without sending out such a notice.

It is possible that people flagged by the state — who provided the DPS with documentation that indicated they were authorized to be in the country — could have become naturalized citizens since they obtained their driver’s licenses or ID cards. A spokesman for the secretary of state said officials are “very confident” that the data received from the DPS is “current.”

In announcing the review of the rolls, Secretary of State David Whitley — who was appointed to the post last month after serving as deputy chief of staff to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — immediately handed the data over to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who said his office will “spare no effort in assisting with these troubling cases.”

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But without additional verification, one cannot say these individuals all engaged in illegal voting, said Chris Davis, the head of the Texas Association of Elections Administrators.

"People get naturalized,” Davis said. “It's entirely too early to say that.”

The numbers were released just a few weeks into a legislative session during which lawmakers may take up proposals to require some form of citizenship verification before registering to vote. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 rejected states' efforts to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Other federal courts have knocked down more recent efforts.

"Integrity and efficiency of elections in Texas require accuracy of our state's voter rolls, and my office is committed to using all available tools under the law to maintain an accurate list of registered voters,” Whitley said in a statement.

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But Beth Stevens, voting rights legal director for the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the announcement echoed efforts around the country to remove eligible voters from the rolls.

"The secretary’s actions threaten to result in tens of thousands of eligible voters being removed from the rolls, including those with the least resources to comply with the demand to show papers,” Stevens said.