DHS approves plan to verify voter citizenship, monitor mail ballots as Trump push intensifies

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved a plan to help states verify that registered voters are U.S.citizens while also monitoring mail ballot flows for potential signs of voter fraud, advancing a central pillar of President Donald Trump’s election integrity agenda. The department approved the plan last Thursday, with the initiative expected to launch by the end of June, according to a court filing submitted Friday. Under the proposal, states would be permitted to submit their entire voter registration rolls to a federal immigration database to verify citizenship and voting eligibility.

State election officials would also be given secure access to citizenship information maintained by federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the State Department. DHS also plans to coordinate with the U.S.Postal Service (USPS) to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot flows, identify unusual patterns, detect potential fraud, and generate investigative leads, according to the filings.TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER OVERHAULING MAIL-IN VOTING IN MAJOR ELECTION INTEGRITY PUSHOregon residents drop off ballots near the Multnomah County Elections building in Portland, Ore., on Nov.

3, 2020.(Ankur Dholakia/AFP via Getty Images)"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 said. The move follows President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order, "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," which directs the creation of "state citizenship lists," requiring the DHS to identify confirmed U.S.

citizens age 18 and older and share that information with state election officials. GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS' OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILLA U.S.flag waves in front of a USPS office in Bethesda, Maryland, on Au...