A preliminary review by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has indicated that the scale of potential illegal voting by non-citizens in American elections is far smaller than some political rhetoric has suggested.
Initial Findings Show Minimal Irregularities
The analysis, which is still ongoing, examined data from nearly 50 million individuals on voter rolls across several states. According to Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the review has so far recommended 10,000 cases for further investigation into citizenship status.
This figure represents just 0.02 percent of the total number of people processed. The vetting was conducted using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) programme, an online service run by USCIS that allows government agencies to verify an applicant's immigration status.
A Partisan Divide on Voter Roll Checks
The SAVE programme's use for checking voter eligibility is voluntary for states. The review has been adopted primarily by Republican-led states, while many jurisdictions under Democratic control have opted out.
The Trump administration contends that this is where the majority of non-citizen voting occurs. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail, "This process takes time, especially given strong opposition from blue states, with notoriously bad voter roll maintenance, that have refused to check their rolls."
She reiterated the administration's commitment to "securing our elections and ensuring only American citizens vote in American elections." States like California and New York, which lack strict voter ID laws, were contrasted with Florida and Texas, where a photo ID is required to vote.
Ongoing Legal and Political Battles
An administration official stressed that the initial analysis is not a complete national sample and therefore may not reflect the full picture. The Department of Justice is currently suing at least 22 states, including New York and California, to obtain their voter data for further scrutiny.
"We expect to find more problems there because the [New Jersey] list alone had over 10,000 noncitizen voters," the official stated. They added that "law enforcement operations regarding voter fraud continue to ramp up."
President Donald Trump has long argued that illegal voting is a major issue, frequently criticising large cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. In a social media post earlier this year, he claimed these areas use illegal aliens to "expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State." The new DHS data, however, suggests the documented incidence of such activity is currently minimal.
