AUSTIN, Texas The states top election official on Thursday refused to say his office erred when it publicized an inaccurate list of 95,000 suspected noncitizens on the states voter rolls and sent the names to the attorney general for potential prosecution.

In his first comments since setting off a firestorm that has resulted in three federal lawsuits, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley (R) downplayed concerns that his office used unverified data to stir up fears of voter fraud. Instead, he described the inquiry as an ongoing process of information-sharing between state and county officials.

Were following state law and federal law in this procedure, Whitley said, speaking at a confirmation hearing before a Texas Senate committee.

But under questioning from Democratic lawmakers, Whitley struggled to explain why, in a press release two weeks ago, his office said 95,000 noncitizens could be on the voter rolls even though that data hadnt been verified with local election officials. Whitley said he issued the press release because his office does not have investigative authority and he wanted to quickly get the data to officials who could act on it.

I was confident it was the best data, Whitley said of the information he received from state officials, adding that he had received assurances it was accurate. Whitley said he did not personally review the data before it was sent out.