Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has defended the Trump administration's push for stricter voter verification measures ahead of next year's midterm elections, saying only American citizens should be allowed to vote in federal contests and that even isolated instances of illegal voting undermine confidence in the electoral system.
Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Mullin said the Department of Homeland Security would support efforts by President Donald Trump to strengthen citizenship verification and improve the accuracy of voter rolls.
"We're going to make sure that our Constitution is upheld, meaning that only citizens of the United States are voting," he added. "It's the most important thing we can do to protect the integrity of our election."
Asked whether he would rule out deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel to polling stations, Mullin said ICE officers would not be involved in voter identification or immigration enforcement activities at voting locations.
He said ICE personnel could be used in emergency situations involving public safety concerns, such as bomb threats or incidents requiring additional law enforcement support.
Voting rights and election security remain politically contentious issues in the United States.
Republicans have generally said that stronger voter identification and citizenship verification measures are needed to protect election integrity, while Democrats contend that voter fraud is rare and warn that additional requirements could create barriers for eligible voters.
