US Homeland Security agents are to begin a voter fraud investigation surge on Tuesday, 1 September, with teams in nine states authorised to pursue leads through mid-October as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies its election crackdown.
The operation will be led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), under guidance described as a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative”. Agents are expected to conduct field interviews and support prosecutors examining allegations involving voter registration and voting by non-citizens. ([abc17news.com](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/08/31/exclusive-dhs-plans-to-launch-voter-fraud-investigation-surge-tuesday/))
The nine states named in the guidance are Washington, Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York and Connecticut. The activity will run as the US midterm election season gathers pace, with early voting already under way in some areas. ([abc17news.com](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/08/31/exclusive-dhs-plans-to-launch-voter-fraud-investigation-surge-tuesday/))
A Homeland Security spokesperson said HSI could not comment on active investigations but was “actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found”. The department said the agency was committed to ensuring that only US citizens elect American leaders. ([abc17news.com](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/08/31/exclusive-dhs-plans-to-launch-voter-fraud-investigation-surge-tuesday/))
The move follows months of pressure from the Trump administration on states to share voter rolls for federal audits. The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have jointly promoted election-integrity enforcement, including investigations into allegations that non-citizens registered or voted unlawfully. ([civilrights.justice.gov](https://www.civilrights.justice.gov/electionintegrity))
However, the scale of the alleged problem has been disputed. DHS previously said an audit had identified more than 250,000 registered non-citizens in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada, but officials in Nevada were later told that only 185 cases had been confirmed, according to records reviewed by CNN. ([abc17news.com](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/08/31/exclusive-dhs-plans-to-launch-voter-fraud-investigation-surge-tuesday/))
Voting by non-citizens in federal elections is illegal, but election experts say documented cases remain extremely rare. The Associated Press reported that the administration’s claims about widespread non-citizen voting had not been supported by evidence and warned that the issue could be used to challenge midterm results. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/3c24d72b0b91803ed097226ee00f9483))
The timing of the investigations has also drawn attention. Long-standing Justice Department guidance cautions against overt election-related investigative action close to voting because it could influence campaigns or discourage legitimate participation, although DHS is a separate department and is not bound by that policy. ([abc17news.com](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/08/31/exclusive-dhs-plans-to-launch-voter-fraud-investigation-surge-tuesday/))
