DHS approves plan to verify voter citizenship, monitor mail ballots as Trump push intensifies

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved a plan to help states verify that registered voters are U.S. citizens while also monitoring mail ballot flows for potential signs of voter fraud, advancing a central pillar of President Donald Trump’s election integrity agenda. 

The department approved the plan last Thursday, with the initiative expected to launch by the end of June, according to a court filing submitted Friday. 

Under the proposal, states would be permitted to submit their entire voter registration rolls to a federal immigration database to verify citizenship and voting eligibility. State election officials would also be given secure access to citizenship information maintained by federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the State Department. 

DHS also plans to coordinate with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot flows, identify unusual patterns, detect potential fraud, and generate investigative leads, according to the filings.

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"DHS contemplates working with the United States Postal Service (USPS) … to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot flows, identify anomalies that may suggest voter fraud or misuse, and generate authorized investigative leads," the filing said. 

The move follows President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order, "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," which directs the creation of "state citizenship lists," requiring the DHS to identify confirmed U.S. citizens age 18 and older and share that information with state election officials. 

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It also stated that the USPS is prohibited from delivering mail-in ballots to anyone who is not officially enrolled on a state-provided "Mail-In and Absentee Participation List." All outgoing mail-in ballot envelopes must feature an "Official Election Mail" marking and a unique tracking barcode to confirm that only citizens cast ballots. 

According to a June 5 court filing, states would be allowed to submit their full voter registration lists to a federal immigration database known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The system would compare voter records with federal immigration and citizenship data, including records from the Social Security Administration, to help confirm whether voters are eligible.

In addition, the plan includes a secure online system that would let state election officials directly check citizenship information held by federal agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the State Department.

To maintain data security, the information would stay within each agency’s system, and state officials would run checks through the secure portal when verifying voter eligibility.