Kathrine Frich
The anonymous complaint describes a frantic pace behind the scenes.
Election seasons always bring a flurry of late preparations.
Local officials scramble to keep the process completely by the book.
But occasionally, the intense push to secure the ballot box crosses a serious legal line.
Rushing the system
According to a whistleblower report published by The New York Times and cited by Huffpost, the Department of Homeland Security is rushing to find non-citizens on voter rolls before the November 3 midterm elections.
The process might involve breaking state rules.
To pull this off, investigators reportedly impersonated individual voters. They used sensitive personal details gathered from various internal databases to bypass security screens. And that is a major issue, because local laws dictate that only the actual citizen can access their own secure file.
Unrealistic time limits
The anonymous complaint describes a frantic pace behind the scenes. Agents must supposedly review a single file in just 12 minutes.
Critics worry this incredible speed will inevitably label legitimate American citizens as non-citizens.
According to the whistleblower, supervisors told staff they would not face personal liability if they violated local statutes. Senator Alex Padilla discussed the findings during a press conference on Monday. The Democracy Defenders Fund originally provided the report to him and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
“You cannot break the law when you say you’re trying to enforce the law, but they’re doing it anyway,” Padilla stated.
Manufactured evidence
The internal program requires investigators to process five cases an hour.
A letter from the Democracy Defenders Fund to Padilla explained that workers must use sensitive internal data to log into state websites. They might have to falsely swear they are the actual voter.
“Such false representations would likely violate relevant state law,” the legal group wrote.
This glitch could lead to thousands of Americans facing trouble at border checkpoints or facing sudden criminal probes. “It’s about the potential of using manufactured evidence to intimidate voters and disenfranchise Americans or even undermine or challenge this election’s results,” Padilla explained.
Pushing back
Padilla and Schumer sent a formal letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. They demanded an immediate halt to the controversial program.
The agency quickly dismissed the accusations. A spokesperson released a statement calling the controversy a complete media concoction.
“One has to question why the media is so dead set on running a smoke screen for illegal alien voters in American elections,” the DHS stated.
This clash arrives right as President Donald Trump pushes multiple federal efforts to reshape voting rules across the country ahead of the midterms.
Sources: Huffpost, The New York Times, Democracy Defenders Fund
