DHS approves plan to verify voter citizenship, monitor mail ballots as Trump push intensifies
Department of Homeland Security Approves Voter Verification Plan Ahead of Summer Launch
The Department of Homeland Security has given the green light to a sweeping initiative designed to verify that registered voters across the country are United States citizens, while simultaneously implementing new tracking measures for mail-in ballots.
DHS approved the plan last Thursday, with the program expected to be operational by the end of June, according to court documents filed Friday.
Under the approved framework, states will gain access to submit their complete voter registration rolls to a federal immigration database known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, or SAVE. The system will cross-reference voter records with federal immigration and citizenship data, including information held by the Social Security Administration.
Additionally, state election officials will be provided a secure online portal to directly query citizenship information maintained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Social Security Administration, and the State Department. The setup is designed to allow verification checks while keeping sensitive information contained within existing agency systems.
The initiative represents a key component of President Donald Trump's election integrity agenda. It stems from an executive order the president signed on March 31, titled "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," which directed the creation of state citizenship lists and instructed DHS to identify confirmed U.S. citizens age 18 and older and share that data with state election officials.
In a separate but related effort, DHS plans to coordinate with the U.S. Postal Service to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot activity nationwide.
"DHS contemplates working with the United States Postal Service to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot flows, identify anomalies that may suggest voter fraud or misuse, and generate authorized investigative leads," according to the court filing.
The coordination with USPS will include restrictions on ballot delivery. Under the plan, the Postal Service is prohibited from delivering mail-in ballots to anyone not officially enrolled on a state-provided Mail-In and Absentee Participation List. All outgoing mail-in ballot envelopes must display an "Official Election Mail" marking and include a unique tracking barcode to help ensure only eligible citizens cast ballots.
The plan builds on ongoing efforts to tighten election security measures and comes as Congress continues debating legislation related to voter identification requirements.