DHS Launches Major Voter Fraud Push Before Midterms

The Department of Homeland Security is expanding voter-fraud investigations in battleground and Democrat-led states, with Homeland Security Investigations launching a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative” beginning September 1.

The push is slated to run through mid-October. Officials say investigators will chase leads, interview people, and package cases for prosecutors, according to internal guidance first reported by CNN.

Nine states are listed: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. The focus is suspected noncitizens who may have registered or voted illegally.

HSI is an ICE investigative arm that usually works trafficking, smuggling, and child-exploitation cases. Under President Trump it has been pulled into election work. Control of Congress is on the ballot in November.

Justice Department custom has long discouraged high-visibility investigative steps close to an election if they could affect campaigns. That policy does not bind DHS. The internal guidance reportedly does not mention those timing limits.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has pressed states to open voter rolls to federal review and warned that states that refuse certain security measures could risk federal money.

DHS has already announced cases. One recent charge involves Chinese national Yupeng Sun, accused of impersonating another Chinese national while registering in Massachusetts and submitting an early ballot in the 2024 presidential election.

Earlier this summer DHS said a preliminary review found more than 250,000 potential noncitizens on rolls in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada. State officials challenged the methodology. Later reporting found the Nevada figure was far less solid after further review.

Voting-rights groups say proven noncitizen voting is rare and warn that sloppy database matches can flag eligible voters. The administration says even a smaller number of illegal votes is worth prosecuting.

“If you’re illegal and attempted to vote, or you tried to vote illegally for someone else, we will find you, and we will charge you,” Mullin said in July. That warning now comes with investigators in the field through October.