{"id":9064,"date":"2026-07-17T23:59:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T18:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9064"},"modified":"2026-07-17T23:59:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T18:59:25","slug":"mullin-threatens-to-withhold-aid-from-states-that-dont-comply-with-dhs-election-directives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9064","title":{"rendered":"Mullin threatens to withhold aid from states that don\u2019t comply with DHS election directives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened on Friday to strip states of federal election-related aid, and to possibly seek criminal penalties against election officials, if they don&#8217;t comply with the administration&#8217;s voting roll probe ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mullin told reporters that if states want to continue to receive federal reimbursement &#8220;to run federal elections,&#8221; they must now cooperate with DHS&#8217;s efforts to &#8220;scrub&#8221; their voter rolls and update the security of their election systems.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We&#8217;re saying that the machines had to be secure, and that your voter registration list needs to be scrubbed,&#8221; Mullin said in a news conference.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur gIjeL \" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/27df8d47-90eb-458e-8c33-0836d5045116\/mullin-1-ap-gmh-260717_1784301533321_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/27df8d47-90eb-458e-8c33-0836d5045116\/mullin-1-ap-gmh-260717_1784301533321_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/27df8d47-90eb-458e-8c33-0836d5045116\/mullin-1-ap-gmh-260717_1784301533321_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/27df8d47-90eb-458e-8c33-0836d5045116\/mullin-1-ap-gmh-260717_1784301533321_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/27df8d47-90eb-458e-8c33-0836d5045116\/mullin-1-ap-gmh-260717_1784301533321_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin speaks in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP Photo<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">It was not immediately clear what grants or funding could be in jeopardy for non-compliant states. DHS has previously threatened to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency counterterrorism grants unless states complied with election security mandates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;If states want the grant funding, to recap, they must secure the election,&#8221; Mullin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mullin&#8217;s news conference came one day after <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/key-takeaways-trumps-elections-speech\/story?id=134835191\" dir=\"ltr\">President Donald Trump&#8217;s primetime speech on elections<\/a>, in which he announced he was declassifying a slew of documents he claims reveal vulnerabilities in America&#8217;s elections systems and foreign interference, particularly by China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mullin, who was sworn in as DHS secretary on March 24, claimed America&#8217;s adversaries have the &#8220;key to the back&#8221; of American voting machines, alleging that bad actors could change the registration of voters &#8212; and even manipulate votes that have already been cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But Mullin offered no evidence that foreign vote manipulation has occurred, nor did he elaborate on how it is possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mullin also argued, as Trump did on Thursday night, that America&#8217;s elections are also vulnerable because of noncitizen voters being on the voter rolls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A DHS report released overnight alleged more than 250,000 noncitizens are on voter rolls in four states.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mullin did not provide more information on how DHS arrived at the claim that 250,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada, saying only it was pulled from public voter records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Department of Justice attempted to compel states to turn over their voter files, and sued more than two dozen that refused to do so. But courts have thrown out those lawsuits across the board, saying the DOJ lacks a compelling reason for the data.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur \" style=\"padding-bottom:66.47376543209876%\" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/98be5be8-d5d0-4e13-b26e-c7a265e6b608\/donald-trump-8-gty-gmh-260716_1784252225905_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/98be5be8-d5d0-4e13-b26e-c7a265e6b608\/donald-trump-8-gty-gmh-260716_1784252225905_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/98be5be8-d5d0-4e13-b26e-c7a265e6b608\/donald-trump-8-gty-gmh-260716_1784252225905_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/98be5be8-d5d0-4e13-b26e-c7a265e6b608\/donald-trump-8-gty-gmh-260716_1784252225905_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/98be5be8-d5d0-4e13-b26e-c7a265e6b608\/donald-trump-8-gty-gmh-260716_1784252225905_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House in Washington, July 16, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Saul Loeb\/Pool via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mullin said it would be a &#8220;little bit tougher&#8221; to obtain data from those states.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He said DHS will continue to comb through voter rolls in search of noncitizens and others ineligible to vote, and threatened them with jail time and or financial penalties.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We will scrub all election records, looking for illegal aliens and those who are ineligible to vote, including those that somehow voted, yet they were deceased,&#8221; Mullin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;If you&#8217;re illegal and attempted to vote, or you tried to vote illegally for someone else, we will find you, and we will charge you,&#8221; Mullin continued. &#8220;Illegal voter restoration and illegal voting both carry penalties up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. We will pursue maximum pressure on this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The secretary said election officials would be held &#8220;accountable&#8221; if they don&#8217;t comply and that the penalties would be extended to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections, and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even depending on how far it goes, prison time,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Mullin said DHS will look into the integrity of both early voting and post-Election Day votes during this November&#8217;s midterm elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened on Friday to strip states of federal election-related aid, and to possibly seek criminal penalties against election officials, if they don&#8217;t comply with the administration&#8217;s voting roll probe ahead of the midterms. Mullin told reporters that if states want to continue to receive federal reimbursement &#8220;to run&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/27df8d47-90eb-458e-8c33-0836d5045116\/mullin-1-ap-gmh-260717_1784301533321_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}