DHS Approves Citizenship Verification Plan for Voter Registration

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved a plan to aid states in verifying the citizenship of registered voters. This initiative also involves monitoring mail ballot flows to detect potential voter fraud. This move aligns with the election integrity agenda initiated by President Donald Trump.

The approval, granted last Thursday, is set to be implemented by the end of June, according to a court filing from Friday. The proposal allows states to submit their complete voter registration rolls to a federal immigration database. This enables verification of citizenship status and voting eligibility. State election officials will gain secure access to citizenship information from federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration and the State Department.

Furthermore, DHS will collaborate with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot movements. This monitoring aims to identify anomalies that may suggest voter fraud and will generate investigative leads.

“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 stated.

This initiative follows President Trump’s executive order titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” signed on March 31. The order mandates the creation of “state citizenship lists,” requiring DHS to identify confirmed U.S. citizens aged 18 and older and to share this information with state election officials. Furthermore, USPS is restricted from delivering mail-in ballots to individuals not listed on the state’s “Mail-In and Absentee Participation List.” Outgoing mail-in ballot envelopes must be marked with “Official Election Mail” and a unique tracking barcode to ensure that only citizens participate in elections.

A court filing from June 5 clarifies that states may submit their complete voter registration lists to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, a federal immigration database. This system will compare voter records with federal immigration and citizenship data, including information from the Social Security Administration, to confirm voter eligibility.

The plan also outlines the creation of a secure online system. This system will allow state election officials to verify citizenship information with federal agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the State Department. To ensure data security, the information will remain within each agency’s system. State officials will conduct checks through a secure portal when confirming voter eligibility.

Bonny Chu, a Breaking and Trending News Writer for Fox News Digital, reported on this development.