DHS Pulls Back Plan to Collect Mail Voter Data Under Trump Order
Federal agency walks back controversial plan to monitor mail-in voters after legal challenges mount against Trump administration voting restrictions.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has retreated from plans to collect data on millions of Americans who vote by mail, significantly scaling back an initiative launched under President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting mail-in voting.
In a federal court filing submitted Monday night, the Justice Department revised the Trump administration’s data-sharing proposal, describing it as preliminary and dependent on approval of new U.S. Postal Service regulations. The filing cited a memo signed Monday by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that reversed the department’s previous position.
Policy Reversal Follows Legal Challenge
“The Secretary authorized DHS to continue preliminary conversations with USPS concerning potential data-sharing arrangements, and should USPS finalize its rulemaking process, consider working to advance potential coordination to the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law and privacy protections,” according to the court notice.
Mullin’s memo “more accurately reflects the current policy of the Administration with respect to the implementation” of Trump’s executive order, according to the Monday filing. This directly contradicts a Friday notice that stated Homeland Security “contemplates” working to “integrate” postal service voter data to monitor mail ballot flow and identify potential fraud.
Original Plan Called for Data Integration
The original Friday filing indicated Homeland Security planned to use mail voter information to generate investigative leads as part of the administration’s broader effort to restrict mail-in voting. The department had proposed integrating Postal Service data about mail ballot delivery and collection into its monitoring systems.
Trump’s March 31 executive order requires states to submit lists of potential mail voters to the Postal Service if they want ballots delivered. The order also directs Homeland Security to work with postal officials to track mail ballot movements and investigate suspected irregularities.
Legal Challenges Mount
The policy reversal comes as civil rights groups and election officials have challenged the Trump administration’s voting restrictions in federal court. Monday’s filing represents a significant retreat from the aggressive stance the administration took just days earlier regarding federal oversight of mail-in voting.
The Homeland Security department’s backtracking suggests the administration may be reconsidering the scope of its mail voting oversight following legal pushback. The original plan would have given federal agencies unprecedented access to state voter registration data and mail ballot tracking information.
Under the revised approach, any data-sharing arrangement would require completion of the Postal Service’s rulemaking process and would need to comply with existing privacy protections and federal law. The timeline for implementing such measures remains unclear following Monday’s policy shift.
