CREW sued the Trump administration for records on noncitizen voting numbers
We sued the Trump administration for records on noncitizen voting numbers
- Thu, Oct 8 at 1:21 PM
CREW sues for records on purported noncitizen voting numbers
Trump’s administration claims it found 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote—but it refuses to show how it came up with those numbers.
CREW is suing DHS for the records and methodology behind these extremely dubious claims before unverified data is used to purge eligible voters.Mark, we sued the Trump administration to compel them to respond to our records request for records on noncitizen voting numbers—and we filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to get the information as quickly as possible.
On July 16, President Trump addressed the nation and claimed that his administration had identified approximately 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections.
Trump ordered DHS to direct states to remove these ineligible voters immediately. At the same time, despite the president having no such authority, DHS released a so-called “factsheet” claiming that over 250,000 non-citizens were illegally registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent those states’ chief election officials figures totaling roughly 256,000 alleged noncitizen registrants—and later threatened officials who didn’t cooperate with fines and criminal penalties.
But there’s a problem: DHS still hasn’t explained how it got these numbers.
Election officials in at least three of the four states have demanded to see the methodology. The administration hasn’t provided it.
That’s why we submitted FOIA requests for records that show the data sources and methodology of the Trump administration’s claims. But they failed to make a timely determination on our requests. So we sued DHS and USCIS to force them to respond.
If the Trump administration is going to make a claim this consequential, the public deserves to know where the numbers came from.
Mark, without evidence that the data is accurate, the federal government’s demands may pressure states to violate the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits systematic removals from voter rolls after August 5 precisely to avoid haphazard voter purges that could disenfranchise lawfully registered voters.
With the midterms approaching, state officials are being forced to sort through these claims under serious time pressure. They’re also worried that more unverified numbers could surface closer to Election Day—and be used to justify federal interference in how states run their elections.
These claims are designed to stoke fears about non-existent widespread voter fraud, and undermine public confidence in election administration and results. These efforts will fail and we will continue to push back against them.
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