Pennsylvania Official Challenges DHS Non-Citizen Voter Claims

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt challenged a claim from the United States Department of Homeland Security asserting that 14,576 non-citizens are registered to vote in Pennsylvania. In a July 29 response to a letter from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Schmidt requested the agency's methodology and data sources, arguing that previous voter list analyses have relied on faulty methodologies.

Secretary Mullin's original July 16 letter alleged that more than 250,000 potential non-citizens are illegally registered to vote across four states, including California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Mullin characterized the issue as a matter of national security, stating that only Americans should elect American leaders.

Schmidt defended the voter roll maintenance of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, noting that over 338,000 registrations were canceled in 2025. He further pointed to prior DHS acknowledgments that the SAVE database, often used for these checks, can contain inaccurate or outdated citizenship information. Schmidt emphasized that the cancellation of any record must be based on reliable data and a prescriptive statutory process.