DHS
US Cabinet department for border security and homeland defence, now under Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
On 25 September, the Supreme Court let DHS restart bulk SAVE citizenship checks, restoring a contested role in voter-file screening before 3 November.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 3 active topics
With courts blocking its voter screening and a 17% error rate, can DHS defend its election role?
Timeline for DHS
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US Midterms 2026Background
DHS is the US Cabinet department responsible for Homeland Security. Its remit includes border security, immigration enforcement, counter-terrorism, cyber security, transport security and disaster response. It oversees agencies including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Created after the 11 September attacks, DHS combined 22 federal agencies in one department. Its component agencies place it at the junction of domestic security, immigration and emergency response.
That breadth gives DHS an unusually direct role when federal policy crosses these fields. SAVE, its citizenship-verification system, illustrates the point: the system's use for voter-file screening has put the department in election litigation as well as immigration administration.
DHS regains bulk SAVE checks
On 25 September, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to let DHS restart its expanded SAVE citizenship-check database. Election offices could again compare voter records with Social Security data in bulk, reversing the immediate effect of the D.C. Circuit's 4 September refusal to revive the modified system.
The restoration did not give DHS a free hand before the 3 November election. The federal 90-day quiet period prevents systematic voter-roll cleaning, leaving states to make individual checks while the litigation continues. For DHS, SAVE has become both an immigration-verification system and the operational centre of a national election dispute.
DHS carries disputed voter screening
On 10 April, Section 2b of the voting executive order left DHS authorised to review state voter files after three federal courts blocked seven other provisions. The Department of Justice had sought registration records from 48 states and Washington, DC, with the data intended for DHS citizenship screening through SAVE.
DHS's role carries the programme's practical and legal risk. On 3 April, early reports put the expanded system's error rate at 17 per cent, while 29 states and Washington, DC refused the federal data request. The department is therefore using a homeland-security verification tool in a contested election-administration role.
Reference
What is the DHS?
Is the DHS SAVE voter-screening system still operating?
What does DHS do for major events like the World Cup?
Why is the DHS inspector general investigating Kristi Noem's tenure?
Who is the Secretary of Homeland Security in 2026?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 1 October 2026. Editorial standards.