The majority of the nine noncitizens who voted did so before 2012, said Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for the secretary of state’s office.

“One of the reason the secretary ordered this non-citizenship audit is to prove to people that, while there are ways that someone can get on (the voter rolls), it is ceasingly rare,” Sterling said. “There is no proof that there is an overwhelming number of noncitizens on the rolls.”

An additional 156 people whose citizenship status couldn’t be determined will be investigated further by the secretary of state’s office.

The secretary of state’s office said it identified the 20 individuals based on their own admissions that they weren’t U.S. citizens when called for jury duty. The audit found them by comparing jury affidavits, federal citizenship records and voter registration lists.

“This is the most comprehensive citizenship check ever conducted in the history of Georgia, if not the most comprehensive check ever conducted in the United States,” said Raffensperger, a Republican. “Georgia is a model when it comes to preventing noncitizen voting.”

Georgia law requires voters to be U.S. citizens, and evidence of citizenship is required before registering to vote.

All voters must show ID before voting in person or absentee.

A previous audit two years ago found no noncitizens had voted in Georgia. This year’s audit was more comprehensive because it reviewed voters’ affidavits when they were asked to serve on a jury.

Citizenship checks became more rigorous since 2012, when Georgia began implementing citizenship verification through the Department of Driver Services as well as REAL ID standards, which require evidence of citizenship for permanent licenses.

Kelly Loeffler, chairwoman of the conservative voter registration organization Greater Georgia, said voters need more answers from Raffensperger after he previously said noncitizens weren’t voting in Georgia. She requested the results of the citizenship audit last month after Raffensperger announced it in July.

“The revelation that 20 noncitizens — and potentially 156 more — have registered to vote in Georgia is long-awaited information that Georgians deserve to know,” said Loeffler, a Republican and former U.S. senator. “Voters just want the truth, and if state officials continue to withhold or misrepresent it, they will soon erode the trust that has been rebuilt in our system thanks to strong laws and advocacy.

The audit checked voters’ citizenship status based on records from county courts, the Georgia Department of Driver Services and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Raffensperger said he will conduct citizenship audits annually from now on.

How Georgia checks voters’ citizenship