The Department of Homeland Security has approved a sweeping election-security initiative that would allow states to verify voter citizenship through federal databases while also establishing new systems to monitor mail-in ballot activity for potential signs of fraud.
The plan, approved last Thursday and outlined in a court filing submitted Friday, represents one of the most significant federal election-integrity efforts of the Trump administration and is expected to begin rolling out before the end of June.
At the center of the initiative is a new citizenship verification process designed to help states confirm that registered voters are eligible to participate in federal elections.
Under the proposal, states would be permitted to submit their entire voter registration rolls to the federal government’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The database, which is currently used to verify immigration and citizenship status for government benefits, would compare voter records against federal immigration and citizenship information.
The verification process would draw data from multiple federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the State Department.
In addition, state election officials would gain access to a secure online portal allowing them to directly verify citizenship information maintained by those agencies. According to court filings, the underlying records would remain within each agency’s own systems, with election officials conducting searches through a protected interface rather than accessing federal databases directly.
Administration officials argue the system will provide states with a more reliable way to identify non-citizens who may be improperly registered to vote while improving confidence in election administration.
The initiative also includes a new partnership between DHS and the U.S. Postal Service aimed at monitoring mail-in and absentee ballot activity.
According to the filing, DHS plans to work with USPS to track ballot flows, identify unusual patterns, and generate investigative leads when anomalies are detected.
“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 states.
The effort stems from President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The order directed DHS to establish what it described as “state citizenship lists” by identifying confirmed U.S. citizens age 18 and older and making that information available to state election officials.
The executive order also outlined new procedures for mail-in voting.
Under the framework described in court filings, mail-in ballots would only be delivered to individuals listed on state-provided Mail-In and Absentee Participation Lists. Ballot envelopes would be required to include an “Official Election Mail” designation along with unique tracking barcodes intended to improve transparency and accountability throughout the voting process.
Supporters of the initiative argue that the measures provide states with modern tools to verify voter eligibility and detect potential irregularities. They contend that access to federal citizenship records could help prevent ineligible individuals from remaining on voter rolls and strengthen public confidence in election outcomes.
Critics are expected to raise concerns about privacy, federal involvement in election administration, data accuracy, and the scope of federal monitoring of mail-in voting activity.
