The former registered voters whom [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott called noncitizens, and the other people removed from the rolls since September 2021, were taken off through a routine practice local election officials conduct that includes culling the names of people who have moved or died. Election experts have urged caution in using the numbers to make definitive statements about registered noncitizens. But Abbott did just that, initially stating in his news release that thousands of noncitizens had been stripped from the rolls. His office then edited the press release after publication, softening it by adding the word "potential" before noncitizens.