The Department of Homeland Security is working with swing states like Arizona to verify voter rolls for citizenship, intensifying a nationwide battle over electoral integrity and access.
At a Glance
- DHS partners with Arizona to check voter rolls
- Effort follows legal settlement with America First Legal
- Critics warn of risks to naturalized citizens
- 750,000 removed from rolls in North Carolina
- SAVE Act adds pressure for proof-of-citizenship laws
DHS Joins Voter Roll Scrutiny Push
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun assisting swing states in verifying their voter rolls, fueling debates about election integrity and voter suppression. As reported by Newsweek, Arizona counties, including Maricopa, are working with DHS to cross-check registered voters who lack Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). This initiative stems from a recent settlement with America First Legal that compels DHS to provide support for these reviews.
Maricopa County Supervisor Justin Heap praised the partnership, stating, “One citizen, one vote isn’t just a slogan—it is the right of every American citizen,” and urged DHS to provide access to non-citizen databases to enhance verification efforts. These measures coincide with House Republicans’ passage of the SAVE Act, which would enforce stricter citizenship requirements for voter registration.
Watch Newsweek’s report on the incident at Arizona to partner with DHS to remove names from voter rolls.
Voter Rights Advocates Sound Alarm
While Republican-led states argue these roll reviews are essential to restoring public trust, voting rights groups warn of unintended consequences. According to The Guardian, advocates are concerned that naturalized citizens—especially voters of color—could be wrongly purged, especially close to elections when federal law limits systematic voter list removals.
Kate Huddleston of the ACLU noted that there is “a vanishingly small number” of noncitizen voters, and emphasized that large-scale removals risk chilling legitimate participation. Savannah Kumar echoed this, telling The Washington Examiner that “releasing these numbers without context is a thinly disguised attempt to intimidate voters of color and naturalized citizens from exercising their rights.”
Controversial Moves Across States
Similar efforts are underway in other battlegrounds. In North Carolina, officials removed 750,000 voters from the rolls, prompting criticism for its timing ahead of the 2024 election. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has touted the removal of more than one million records since 2021, including 6,500 flagged as potential non-citizens. Virginia also announced the purge of over 6,300 individuals using DMV and DHS data.
Despite calls for transparency, experts warn that overly aggressive list maintenance may violate federal protections—especially the National Voter Registration Act, which bans systematic purges within 90 days of a federal election. Political scientist Costas Panagopoulos warned that added requirements could disproportionately impact lower-income voters who face logistical and economic barriers to providing documentation.
Integrity vs. Access: A National Standoff
With Republicans pushing hard on voter verification and Democrats cautioning against disenfranchisement, the clash over election integrity shows no sign of cooling. Legal experts like David Becker, quoted by The Guardian, argue the conversation needs to shift away from partisan blame: “There’s not a Republican election official out there that wants to take an eligible voter off the list… and there is not a Democratic election official that wants an ineligible person on.”
As the 2024 election nears, this wave of voter list scrutiny highlights the fraught balance between securing elections and protecting access. The outcome of these efforts—and the lawsuits likely to follow—could reshape the rules of American democracy for years to come.
