The Trump administration has charged about 236 people with voting-fraud-related offenses since the president took office, according to the Justice Department, despite an expansive federal effort to investigate suspected noncitizen voting.
The Department of Homeland Security has assigned hundreds of federal agents to review tens of thousands of voter records and visit people suspected of unlawfully voting as noncitizens. The resulting charges include some cases in which people are accused of registering to vote but not casting a ballot.
The figure represents a small share of the more than 158 million ballots cast in the 2024 general election. It is also well below a claim made in July by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who said, without evidence, that more than 250,000 potential noncitizens were registered to vote in four states.
The investigation has involved cooperation between Homeland Security and the Justice Department, which has pursued criminal charges. Homeland Security’s investigative work has also been central to recent Justice Department efforts to intervene in the election.
David Becker, a former Justice Department voting rights lawyer who leads the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the effort was intended to undermine confidence in an election and that the administration was failing to produce evidence.
Sources: The New York Times Politics.