U.S.: DHS Repeats Unsubstantiated Election Claims Amid Expert and Official Pushback

Herz — World Desk · 17 July 2026 at 20:20 · 30s summary · 3 min read

What We Know

On July 17, 2026, Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), held a press conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington. There, he reiterated unsubstantiated claims about election security, following Donald Trump's prime-time televised address the previous day.

That July 16, 2026 address relied on a DHS briefing memo. It revealed no new information, according to The Guardian. Trump claimed the American electoral system was "far from greatness."

Mullin claimed his department identified 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada. He acknowledged that these individuals' identities have not yet been verified.

In states cooperating with the administration, Mullin cited a second figure: 28,000 non-citizens identified across more than 20 states through the SAVE program, a DHS tool used to verify citizenship status of registered voters.

The Numbers in Context

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research—a nonpartisan organization—noted that the administration had not been "transparent about the methodology" behind the 250,000 figure. The 28,000 cases identified in cooperating states represent just 0.04% of the 68 million eligible voters in those same states.

A Republican Official Challenges DHS

Al Schmidt, Republican Secretary of State of Pennsylvania, stated that "all evidence shows that voting by non-citizens is extremely rare across the country, including in Pennsylvania." He noted that voters in his state already verify their identity at every stage of the electoral process.

Voting Machines and Access to Election Data