US President on Thursday (local time) said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified over 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in US federal elections.
He made these remarks during his prime-time address and cited a DHS review of state voter rolls and public records, which identified these non-citizens as being registered to vote in federal elections. Trump noted, “These disclosures reveal an election system so broken and so vulnerable that no one can possibly defend it. It is not defensible.”
Quick answers to key questions
What evidence did the DHS provide for the claim about non-citizens voting?⌵
The DHS report cited a review of state voter rolls indicating over 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote. However, it did not provide evidence that non-citizens had actually cast ballots.
Why did Trump say the election system is vulnerable?⌵
Trump claimed that the registration of over a quarter of a million non-citizens indicates a broken election system, suggesting that these vulnerabilities cannot be defended.
How did the DHS identify non-citizens on voter rolls?⌵
The DHS conducted a review of voter rolls and public records in four states, identifying 190,832 non-citizens in California and smaller numbers in New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Should states respond to the DHS’s findings on voter rolls?⌵
The DHS has requested that state election officials respond within two weeks to confirm their intentions to collaborate in ensuring accurate elections.
What was California’s response to the DHS disclosures about non-citizen voting?⌵
California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, emphasized that state law requires voters to be U.S. citizens and asserted that voter fraud is extremely rare.
The document states, “Since Democrat states refused to share their voter files, the real number is actually much higher—yet even this limited analysis found more than a quarter of a million foreigners illegally registered to vote.”
DHS finds non-citizens on voter rolls in four states
The development came hours after DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the agency found thousands of on voter rolls in California and three other states, Politico reported. Mullin noted that an initial review revealed tens of thousands of non-citizens on voter rolls in states such as New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Roughly 200,000 were uncovered in California alone.
The press release was circulated by the agency ahead of ‘s prime-time speech, in which he had promised to unveil “really big news” on election security. However, the press release did not explain how the DHS reached its conclusions or present evidence that non-citizens had cast ballots.
According to the report, it is unclear how the DHS obtained the data. While some voter registration records are in the public domain, the Department of Justice () has sued more than two dozen states across the country for this type of data. So far, all 15 judges who have ruled on those cases have rejected the requests, calling them overly broad and lacking a clear purpose.
What did the draft release state?
The document states that “reviews of the four states’ records” discovered that 190,832 non-citizens were registered in California, 35,152 in New Jersey, 15,903 in Nevada, and 14,576 in Pennsylvania. However, the document did not suggest that the federal agency found any evidence of non-citizens casting ballots. Further, it did not explain how it arrived at figures that appear to be higher than those in previous reviews.
The release also made reference to letters that the DHS Secretary plans to send to all the states involved, setting a two-week deadline during which the top election officials will have to “respond within two weeks and confirm their intentions to collaborate with DHS in order to ensure free, fair and accurate elections.”
California officials on DHS disclosures
In a post on X, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, “California law is clear: You MUST be a U.S. citizen to vote in state and federal elections,” and added, “Voter fraud is EXTREMELY RARE — and almost always committed by U.S. citizens.”
Separately, California Democratic Assemblymember Marc Berman, who authored several state election laws, said in a statement that the DHS should instead address what he described as the ‘s baseless conspiracy theories surrounding his 2020 election defeat. Berman noted, “If Secretary Mullin wants to investigate voter fraud in America, I suggest he start with his boss,” and added, “The only person who has been caught demanding that election officials make up thousands of votes is President Donald J. Trump, who begged the Georgia Secretary of State to ‘find 11,780 votes’ to steal the 2020 presidential election.”
A federal judge recently ruled that a citizenship database maintained by the DHS had incorrectly identified a significant number of US citizens as ineligible to vote.
It is illegal for non-citizens to vote in US elections, Politico reported, adding that cases of non-citizens voting are extremely rare. Additionally, many of those suspected of being non-citizens identified on state voter rolls turn out to be false positives.
