A Trump administration effort to expand federal involvement in voter verification and mail-in ballot rules is advancing through coordinated discussions across multiple agencies, involving the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Postal Service.
White House officials have held recent interagency talks on implementing the plan, involving DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon and her deputies, USPS CEO David Steiner, and DHS election integrity official Heather Honey, a former aide described as a protege of attorney Cleta Mitchell, who advised Trump during post-2020 election legal efforts.
The effort stems from Trump’s March executive order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which directs DHS to develop a “state citizenship list,” instructs the DOJ to prioritize prosecution of state and local officials who distribute ballots to ineligible voters, and calls on USPS to draft rules requiring states to provide voter registration lists in order to process mail-in ballots.
According to internal disclosures, additional officials involved in the discussions include Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Anthony Salisbury, DOJ associate deputy attorney general Aakash Singh, principal associate deputy attorney general Trent McCotter, and counselor to the attorney general Henry Whitaker.
USPS has stated it is reviewing the executive order and working on draft regulations, while DHS and USCIS officials have said internal deliberations are ongoing.
