States asking for $1 billion+ in DHS grants will be forced to verify voters’ US citizenship

The Department of Homeland Security announced the new requirements this week as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), which makes more than $1 billion in federal funding available to state, Tribal Nation, territorial, and local governments. FEMA said it will withhold 20 percent of a recipient's grant award until recipients demonstrate compliance with the new election security requirements.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the measures are intended to strengthen election security against foreign interference, insider threats, and cyberattacks.

"Election security is national security, and protecting the Nation's critical infrastructure is a top priority," Mullin said. "Under President Trump's leadership, we are taking decisive action to protect election systems from threats like foreign interference, insider threats, and cyberattacks. These new requirements for homeland security grant recipients will preserve election integrity and ensure that Americans can trust the results."

Among the new conditions, states accepting the grants must, within 120 days of accepting an award, use the US Citizenship and Immigration Services' Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to verify the citizenship status of everyone listed in the state's voter registration database.

The guidance also requires states to use the SAVE system, or another authorized government database, to verify the citizenship of all individuals working at polling places or operating election systems, a requirement DHS said is intended to further protect election administration from potential vulnerabilities.

DHS noted that where SAVE functionality has been affected by ongoing litigation, states may instead submit relevant information to USCIS for an immigration records search consistent with federal law for registered voters whose citizenship records cannot otherwise be confirmed.

In addition to the citizenship verification requirements, states must submit a plan to transition away from electronic voting systems that use barcodes or QR codes to tabulate votes in favor of equipment that accepts hand-marked paper ballots. DHS said the transition would create a more reliable paper trail for recounts and post-election verification.

Grant recipients must also conduct a manual audit of at least five percent of all ballots cast after every federal election by comparing randomly selected paper ballots with machine-reported results to identify errors or potential manipulation.

States will also be required to reconcile the number of ballots cast with the number of voters who participated in each federal election before results are certified, a step DHS said is intended to identify discrepancies before certification.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues expanding states' access to the SAVE database for election administration. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Florida ordered DHS to restore expanded SAVE functionality following litigation over state access to the system, allowing participating states broader access to verify voter registration records.

FEMA emphasized that participation in the Homeland Security Grant Program is voluntary. However, jurisdictions that choose to accept the federal funding must comply with the new requirements or risk losing 20 percent of their grant allocation.

"Any recipient of federal funding should expect accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent," DHS said, adding that the administration is committed to ensuring recipients of federal funds are "actively contributing to the security and integrity of our elections by implementing these common-sense measures."