The Department of Homeland Security has asserted that it identified thousands of non-citizens on voter rolls in California and three other states, according to a Politico report cited by Talking Points Memo. The reported claim was attributed to DHS and was based on a draft press release viewed by Politico, rather than on publicly released supporting documentation.
Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo’s editor-in-chief, argued that the assertion required substantially more scrutiny before being amplified. He said past claims of widespread non-citizens on voter rolls have often unraveled after review, including because database comparisons can match people with similar names or retain records for people who later became U.S. citizens.
Marshall also emphasized that appearing on a voter roll is distinct from casting a ballot. He wrote that automatic voter-registration processes can result in non-citizens appearing in registration systems and said audits have generally found few cases, with voting by non-citizens rarer still.
The DHS claim remains an allegation in the material available, with no underlying evidence described beyond the draft release. Marshall criticized Politico for not providing more context about earlier disputed voter-roll claims or examining the basis for DHS’s assertion.
