In a coordinated effort to uphold election integrity, a coalition of 16 state attorneys general, led by South Carolina’s Alan Wilson and Ohio’s Dave Yost, has formally requested that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provide access to its non-citizen database.
This move aims to ensure that the immigration status of registered voters can be verified upon request, a crucial step as the nation approaches the November elections.
In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the attorneys general expressed serious concerns regarding the federal agency’s failure to collaborate with states in verifying voter registration information.
“The 16 undersigned state attorneys general write to raise grave concerns that by failing to work with States to verify voter registration information, your office has failed to discharge its duty ahead of a national election,” the letter states.
The attorneys general emphasized the fundamental right to vote and the states’ responsibility to protect the electoral process.
“Every citizen treasures the right to vote,” Attorney General Wilson said in a statement.
“The states are required by law to protect our election process and are trying to do that, and the Department of Homeland Security is required by law to verify voter information upon request, but DHS has either delayed or given us inadequate information.”
Joining Wilson and Yost in this initiative are attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Together, they assert that the integrity of elections hinges on the ability to confirm the citizenship status of registered voters.
The coalition of attorneys general insists that this federal cooperation is not merely a courtesy—it’s mandated by law. In their letter, they argue that DHS’s failure to cooperate with states undermines the very foundation of election integrity.