White House seeks to remove non-citizens from voter rolls ahead of midterm elections

The White House is advocating for the cleanup of voter rolls in multiple states before the midterm elections on November 3, following reports that tens of thousands of non-citizens were registered and that hundreds had cast ballots, with some facing prosecution. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reviewed voter rolls from at least 47 states under the Trump administration’s "Unlawful Voter Initiative," as reported by Reuters. Some officials believe the process is not progressing quickly enough. A DHS official mentioned in a September 1 email the possibility of raising concerns with the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, regarding the pace of the initiative. Prosecutors are charging non-citizens for illegal voting in federal elections, particularly in swing states like Pennsylvania. President Trump has claimed that his loss in the 2020 election was due to voter fraud and has attempted to implement measures to tighten mail-in voting rules, which were blocked by the courts. He has also called for legislation to strengthen voter ID requirements, which has not passed. In a July speech, Trump accused China of illegally obtaining voter information and undermining his administration. According to Reuters, approximately 30,000 non-citizens have been added to voter rolls since 2000 due to software errors related to automatic voter registration for illegal aliens applying for state driver’s licenses. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis stated that recent arrests have forced acknowledgment of non-citizen voting, urging Democrats to support the SAVE America Act to ensure only citizens participate in elections. Reports indicate that almost all US states have been automatically registering individuals to vote at DMVs and welfare offices without requiring proof of citizenship. Congressional Republicans have attempted to pass the SAVE America Act to address this issue, but Senate Democrats have blocked it. The Trump administration's efforts have led some Democratic states to recognize the presence of non-citizens on voter rolls. New Jersey Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill acknowledged that 6,600 non-citizens were on the state's voter rolls, with about 400 having voted illegally in recent elections. Project Civica estimates that over 10,000 non-citizens may be registered in New York, while California may have as many as 35,152 non-citizens on its rolls, according to a preliminary DHS review. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin noted in a July letter that 190,832 non-citizens might be registered in California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. The DHS review concluded that 278,000 non-citizens were registered to vote nationwide, although the full data has not been made public. The USCIS and other DHS agencies, along with the State Department and Social Security Administration, have been working to match voter rolls with data from federal databases, sometimes purchasing information from data brokers to fill in gaps. Federal prosecutors have charged at least 149 illegal aliens with unlawful voting since 1996, with 20 cases filed during Trump’s second term.