Trump Administration Threatens to Withhold DHS Funds to Force Election Reforms The Trump administration is threatening to withhold tens of millions of dollars in federal homeland security funds from states unless they adopt sweeping election reforms, according to internal documents and multiple sources obtained by CNN. The move, part of a broader effort to combat alleged voter fraud and expand federal oversight of elections, would require states to phase out electronic voting systems, adopt hand-marked paper ballots, and run voter rolls through a controversial Department of Homeland Security citizenship verification database. States that refuse to comply risk losing 20% of their grant money, which is used to fund disaster preparedness, terrorism prevention, and infrastructure protection. The new rules, which are expected to be formally announced later this month, apply to several DHS grant programs and mandate that states take specific actions. These include transitioning to manual voting systems, conducting election audits using methods approved by the Trump administration, and verifying the citizenship of poll workers through the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database. Critics argue that SAVE is flawed, as it can produce false matches and may erroneously flag eligible voters for removal. While some states already use SAVE to vet voter rolls, others have resisted, leading to legal battles with the Justice Department. The administration’s strategy mirrors past efforts to use federal funding as leverage to push states toward policies aligned with its agenda. Last year, officials attempted to withhold money from states that refused to submit updated population counts reflecting the administration’s immigration policies, but courts blocked the measure.#georgia #trump_administration #dhs #delaware #save_database
