A US Census Report on Noncitizen Voting Used Bad Data to Reach Faulty Conclusions
A Wired investigation reveals that a recent US Census Bureau report claiming significant noncitizen voting in the 2020 election relied on flawed data and questionable methodology. Experts and internal sources suggest the findings are likely the result of analytical errors rather than evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Why it matters
The report has been used by political figures to fuel narratives about election integrity, making the debunking of its methodology critical for public discourse on democratic processes.
However, though Trump and other government officials quickly shared and praised the report, a WIRED investigation has uncovered significant flaws in the data used to compile the report, as well as in the approval process used prior to publication. WIRED has also learned that a number of the report’s authors have links to the Trump administration and the Republican party. They include one former affiliate of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and two researchers from the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a highly influential think tank founded by veterans of Trump’s first administration.
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