✕ The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on November 12, 2018 in in a tweet: \"Nearly 200,000 Florida voters may not be citizens.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Immigration * Elections * Florida * Donald Trump Jr. ![\\"Amy](\\" By Amy Sherman November 13, 2018 ![\\"Manuela](\\" By Manuela Tobias November 13, 2018 # Donald Trump Jr. tweets misleading 2012 headline about Florida noncitizen voters As President Donald Trump floated baseless claims about fraud in the counting of ballots in Florida, his son chimed in on Twitter to imply that the state had a huge number of noncitizen voters. \"Amazing, but not shocking at all anymore. Nearly 200,000 Florida Voters May Not Be Citizens Voters-May-Not-Be-Citizens-151212725.html … via @nbc6,\" Donald Trump Jr. tweeted on Nov. 12. > Amazing, but not shocking at all anymore. Nearly 200,000 Florida Voters May > Not Be Citizens via @nbc6 > > — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 12, 2018 The tweet drew more than 28,000 likes in less than 24 hours. But it isn\'t accurate. It is based on a cherry-picked number from a headline that didn’t tell the full story back in 2012. At the outset of the state’s effort to purge noncitizens from the voter rolls, state officials came up with the list of about 182,000 names. But Trump Jr. omits that the final number of noncitizens purged was a tiny speck of that original number. When examined in the context of all the registered voters — or even ballots cast — in Florida or the nation, proven voter fraud by noncitizens is rare. History of noncitizen purge Florida engaged in a controversial attempt to search for noncitizen voters leading up to the 2012 election. The search was rife with errors, and was ultimately dropped after few were found. Shortly after Republican Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011, he asked his top election official at the time to look into removing noncitizens from the voter rolls. By 2012, the Division of Elections put together a list of potential noncitizens based on driver’s license data. Trump cited a headline from early in that process. He linked to a May 2012 story on NBC Miami’s website headlined: \"2012Election: Nearly 200,000 Florida Voters May Not Be Citizens.\" The story was written by the Associated Press. Why was the president’s son sharing a six-year-old story? Matthew Gertz of the liberal Media Matters website noted that before Trump Jr.’s tweet, conservative pundits publicized the 2012 story. David Wohl, the father of conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl, tweeted a link to the story on Nov. 10, as did Harlan Hill and Charlie Kirk. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\" A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 On Nov. 12 before Trump Jr.’s tweet, NBC Miami included an editor’s note on top of the original story. First, it reminded readers that the story was published in 2012. Then, it went over the history lesson of how the state’s list contained errors: ![](\\" The AP had reported that the initial list turned up nearly 182,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens, based on the driver’s license data. Of that group, the state sent an initial list of more than 2,600 voters’ names to county election supervisors. As we have reported and the NBC editor’s note points out, the state ultimately whitted the list and removed 85 voters because they were \"not a U.S. citizen.\" Supervisors had noted all sorts of errors and later used words such as \"sloppy\" and \"embarrassing\" to describe the state initiative, PolitiFact found. One of the problems was that the driver’s license data doesn’t get updated when a legal resident later becomes a citizen. By September 2012, when the Division of Elections produced a new list of about 200 ineligible voters, supervisors were fed up, and the effort appeared to fizzle as the presidential election drew near. The state said it would launch yet another effort to purge noncitizens from the voter rolls almost a year later, but scrapped it. We were unable to find any other sort of comprehensive data on noncitizen voters removed in Florida. We reached out to the state Division of Elections but did not hear back by deadline. Jason Snead tracks proven instances of election fraud in the U.S. for the conservative Heritage Foundation, which includes cases that resulted in criminal convictions, fines or an official finding of fraud. He said the database shows 13 entries from Florida involving a noncitizen who successfully registered and/or voted in an election. These cases were from 2003-06. A May 2017 report by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice found that election officials in 42 jurisdictions referred an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution out of more than 23 million votes. \"The kind of instances in which an individual voter tries to pretend to be somebody else or votes when he or she isn’t eligible are not the statistically meaningful events that we need to be worried about,\" Myrna Pérez, director of the center’s Voting Rights and Elections project and co-author of the study, said to the Austin American-Statesman. Our ruling As Florida underwent a recount of three key races, Trump Jr. tweeted a headline that said \"nearly 200,000 Florida voters may not be citizens.\" He said it was \"amazing, but not shocking at all anymore.\" It’s actually not true, and years old. The story itself provides a more complete picture — and an editor’s note with clarifications that Trump overlooked. The state’s 2012 voter purge started with a list of potentially 182,000 noncitizens on the voter rolls. State officials whittled that list to more than 2,600 names sent to county election supervisors. Ultimately 85 noncitizens were removed. We rate this claim False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Donald Trump Jr., Tweet, Nov. 12, 2018 NBC Miami, \"2012 Election: Nearly 200,000 Florida Voters May Not Be Citizens,\" May 11, 2012 Miami Herald, \"Florida suspends non-citizen voter purge efforts,\" March 27, 2014 Heritage Foundation, Election fraud cases, Accessed Nov. 13, 2018 Twitter, @MattGertz, Nov. 12, 2018 Washington Post, Donald Trump Jr. tries to cast doubt on the vote in Florida by sharing an already-updated story from 2012, Nov. 12, 2018 Huffington Post, Donald Trump Jr. Uses Debunked 2012 Article To Promote Fake Florida Voting Scandal, Nov. 12, 2018 Austin American-Statesman, \"Project Veritas video prompts state probe into possible illegal voting,\" Nov. 7, 2018 PolitiFact, \"Charlie Crist says Florida \"put together a list of over 100,000 people that they thought were ineligible to vote. Came out there were less than 10,\" Sept. 12, 2013 PolitiFact, \"MoveOn says Gov. Rick Scott ‘tried to kick 180,000 people off the voter rolls,\" July 10, 2012 PolitiFact, \"U.S. Rep. Hastings says Florida’s noncitizen voter purge is a ‘backdoor poll tax,\"June 7, 2012 PolitiFact, \"Bill Nelson compares Rick Scott’s voter purge with 2000 attempt,\" June 5, 2012 PolitiFact, \"Donald Trump and Rick Scott allege fraud in Broward, Palm Beach vote counting without any evidence,\" Nov. 13, 2018 PolitiFact, \"Following Trump voter fraud allegations, claim that 5.7 million noncitizens voted is wrong,\" June 22, 2017 PolitiFact, \"Donald Trump says there\'s \'substantial evidence of voter fraud.\' There isn\'t,\" Jan. 4, 2018 Interview, Jason Snead, Senior Policy Analyst in the Edwin Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, Nov. 13, 2018 Brennan Center, Noncitizen Voting: The Missing Millions, May 5, 2017 Twitter, Harlan Z. Hill, Nov. 12, 2018 Twitter, David Wohl, Nov. 10, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Amy Sherman ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a speech in Las Vegas: “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 14, 2024 in a speech in California: Former President Donald Trump “cut overtime benefits for millions of workers.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on August 11, 2024 in an interview on CNN State of the Union: Gov. Tim Walz delivered paid family leave in Minnesota but “Republicans are blocking” a Biden-Harris proposal. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 2, 2024 in a video: In Pompano Beach, Florida, Somali immigrants illegally in the U.S. were in line to get driver’s licenses and “all you need to vote is a driver\'s license.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 27, 2024 in a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota: During the 2020 Minnesota riots after George Floyd’s murder, Gov. Tim Walz didn’t call in the National Guard, “so, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 3, 2024 in a rally in Atlanta: Kamala Harris “supports mandatory gun confiscation.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “wants to defund the police.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “supported abolishing ICE.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 29, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 22, 2024 in an Instagram post: There are nine states “where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ranjan Jindal • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 17, 2024 in a campaign video: \"Unlike Mike Pence, (JD) Vance said he would have carried out Trump\'s plan to overturn the 2020 election.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on July 16, 2024 in in a speech at RNC in Milwaukee: “Just last week, Ruben Gallego voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 17, 2024 ### Donald Trump Jr. tweets misleading 2012 headline about Florida noncitizen voters * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Country Music Television (CMT) has announced a permanent boycott of Taylor Swift.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Disney World officially moving to Nashville.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Bernie Moreno stated on September 9, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Illegal” Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are “reportedly killing and eating pets.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Seth A. Richardson • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 17, 2024 in an Instagram post: Karine Jean-Pierre, President Joe Biden’s press secretary, ended a press conference when a reporter asked about Donald Trump’s assassination attempt. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Taylor Swift responding to Elon Musk\'s X post about giving her a child by saying she\'s happy to take his daughter Vivian and ‘give her all the love and respect she deserves.’ ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Andy Nguyen • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tony Perkins stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “In 12 states, children born alive after a failed abortion have no legal protection, and in three more states children born alive after an abortion had legal rights that governors — like Tim Walz — repealed.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in Threads post: Images show Sean Combs’ booking photos after Sept. 16 arrest. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 28, 2024 in an ad: “Kamala Harris has promised amnesty for the 10 million illegals she allowed in as border czar, making them eligible for Social Security. Studies warn this will lead to cuts in your Social Security benefits.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Ramirez Uribe • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 13, 2024 in a rally in Las Vegas: Vice President Kamala Harris is “talking about bringing back the draft.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 15, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"ABC elimina a los moderadores del debate David Muir y Linsey Davis\". ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 18, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" * * *
Nearly 200000 Florida voters may not be citizens