The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has initiated a federal review of voter registration records in four states, identifying more than 256,000 registrations that a preliminary analysis suggests may belong to noncitizens. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to election officials in California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, requesting their collaboration with federal authorities to verify these records ahead of upcoming federal elections.
"The most efficient way to ensure the accuracy of our findings is to work collaboratively on identity verification." — Markwayne Mullin, Homeland Security Secretary
According to the DHS letters, the department estimates approximately 190,832 potential noncitizen registrations in California, 35,152 in New Jersey, 15,903 in Nevada, and 14,576 in Pennsylvania. The department specified that it identified smaller subsets of these registrations through matches with federal immigration databases, utilizing multiple identifiers such as names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers. These more specific preliminary matches included 81,336 records in California, 19,497 in New Jersey, 8,576 in Nevada, and 8,594 in Pennsylvania.
DHS underscored the preliminary nature of these findings, emphasizing that the requested verification process with state election officials is crucial before any action is taken. Secretary Mullin stated in the letters, “The most efficient way to ensure the accuracy of our findings is to work collaboratively on identity verification.” He further articulated that maintaining accurate voter rolls is fundamental to election integrity, asserting that an ineligible vote effectively nullifies the vote of an eligible U.S. citizen. The department has requested responses from the four states by July 24 to facilitate the sharing of records and federal assistance in the verification process.
Federal law explicitly prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The current DHS initiative highlights an ongoing debate regarding the efficacy of existing voter registration systems in adequately identifying and removing ineligible registrants. The letters from DHS were dispatched shortly after President Donald Trump reiterated his call for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. This proposed legislation would mandate documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration and introduce additional voter identification requirements. Proponents of the SAVE America Act argue that states require enhanced access to federal immigration records to accurately verify voter eligibility. Conversely, opponents contend that documented instances of noncitizen voting are infrequent and caution that additional documentation requirements could create undue obstacles for eligible citizens seeking to register.
California officials have expressed skepticism regarding the DHS findings. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) affirmed that state law already mandates U.S. citizenship for voter registration and participation in both state and federal elections, and he reiterated that voter fraud is rare. California’s secretary of state has previously contested federal requests for statewide voter registration data, and Los Angeles County has indicated it has not provided certain requested records to the state. Election officials in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada have not yet issued public responses to the DHS letters.
Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned the reliability of the preliminary figures. They argue that prior reviews of suspected noncitizen registrations have sometimes resulted in false matches, involving individuals with similar identifying information or those whose citizenship status had changed over time. Reuters also reported that DHS did not publicly release the specific evidence supporting its statewide estimates when it announced these preliminary findings. The verification process requested by DHS is designed to definitively ascertain whether any of the flagged registrations belong to ineligible voters before election officials consider any alterations to voter rolls.
President Trump also weighed in on the issue, stating via the @DHSgov account on X, "According to the DHS review…they identified approximately 278,000 NONCITIZENS who are registered to vote in federal elections. Since Democrat states refuse to share their voter files, the number is actually MUCH HIGHER than that." The ongoing dialogue between federal agencies and state election authorities underscores the complex nature of ensuring election integrity while safeguarding voter access.
