Trump DHS Pressures States With Unverified Claims on Voting Integrity
WHO:
CNN - Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security
CNN - David Scanlan, New Hampshire Republican Secretary of State
CNN - Steve Hobbs, Washington Secretary of State, Democrat
CNN - Francisco Aguilar, Nevada Democratic Secretary of State
CNN - Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania Secretary of State, Republican
CNN - Denny Hoskins, Missouri Secretary of State, Republican
WHAT:
CNN - Mullin's letter to Pennsylvania states that the figure of 14,576 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls is unverified and that 8,594 individuals came up as matches as non-citizens on its files.
CNN - Mullin threatened that election officials could face fines, penalties, and even prison for not participating in the DHS voter roll reviews.
CNN - The DHS program has faced legal challenges, with more than a dozen courts siding with states that refused to provide their voter rolls to the federal government.
CNN - Mullin stated that DHS officials are investigating how many of the flagged individuals actually voted.
CNN - Election officials in Georgia and North Carolina clarified that the DHS statistics represent individuals flagged as possible non-citizens, not confirmed non-citizens on the rolls.
CNN - Trump claims that the Department of Homeland Security has found "approximately 278,000 non-citizens who are registered to vote in federal elections."
CNN - Mullin's letter to Pennsylvania states that 8,594 individuals came up as matches as non-citizens on its files.
CNN - DHS statistics indicate that election officials in Georgia flagged 2,549 individuals as possible non-citizens, with only about 120 having ever voted in the state.
CNN - Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins reported that election officials in his state are still verifying the citizenship status of over 1,000 names flagged in the DHS review.
CNN - The Trump administration is making claims about hundreds of thousands of non-citizens illegally registered to vote.
CNN - DHS claims there are a cumulative quarter-million non-citizens registered in California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
CNN - Mullin's letter to Pennsylvania states there may be as many as 14,576 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls.
Fox News - 23 states have joined the DHS program aimed at election security.
CNN - DHS is threatening states with prosecutions and penalties for not participating in voter roll reviews.
CNN - Only about 120 of the 2,549 flagged individuals in Georgia have ever voted.
WHERE:
CNN - California, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri
WHEN:
CNN - The DHS program is ongoing, with no specific future date mentioned for deadlines or events.
WHY:
CNN - State election officials expressed concerns that the administration might use the data to exaggerate the issue of non-citizen voting to undermine midterm results.
Fox News - DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that states must meet election security standards or risk losing federal election funding.
CNN - The Trump administration aims to force states to hand over sensitive voter data to audit voter registration files.
CNN - State election officials fear the administration will exaggerate the problem of non-citizen voting to sow doubt about midterm results.
HOW:
CNN - The citizenship data system used by DHS, known as SAVE, has a reputation for presenting an inflated picture of registered non-citizens.
CNN - DHS is using the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) system to review voter rolls.
CNN - DHS is requesting states to collaborate on identity verification to ensure the accuracy of their findings.
(UPDATED July 18, 2026 03:57 UTC)
In a recent letter to Pennsylvania, Mullin stated that the figure of 14,576 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls is unverified, with 8,594 individuals flagged as non-citizens in their files. He warned that election officials could face fines, penalties, and even prison for not participating in the Department of Homeland Security's voter roll reviews, which have faced legal challenges from multiple states. Meanwhile, election officials in Georgia and North Carolina clarified that the DHS statistics only represent individuals flagged as possible non-citizens, not confirmed non-citizens, raising concerns about the administration potentially exaggerating the issue of non-citizen voting.
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(UPDATED July 18, 2026 02:52 UTC)
Trump has claimed that the Department of Homeland Security has identified approximately 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections. In Pennsylvania, a letter from Mullin revealed that 8,594 individuals matched as non-citizens, while Georgia election officials flagged 2,549 possible non-citizens, with only about 120 having voted. Missouri's Secretary of State Denny Hoskins reported that election officials are still verifying the citizenship status of over 1,000 names flagged in the DHS review, as DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin emphasized that states must meet election security standards to avoid losing federal funding.
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(UPDATED July 17, 2026 22:23 UTC)
The Trump administration is claiming that hundreds of thousands of non-citizens are illegally registered to vote, with the Department of Homeland Security asserting that there are about a quarter-million such individuals in states like California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin has indicated that Pennsylvania alone may have as many as 14,576 non-citizens on its voter rolls, while only around 120 of the 2,549 flagged individuals in Georgia have actually voted. As part of an ongoing program, DHS is pressuring states to participate in voter roll reviews using the SAVE system, raising concerns among state election officials about the potential exaggeration of non-citizen voting issues, which could undermine confidence in midterm election results.