Nearly three months after Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose first sought access to federal citizenship verification records to help the Buckeye State ensure noncitizens don’t vote in the election, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has yet to respond.
In his defense, Mayorkas reportedly has been busy enjoying high-end sushi from posh Japanese restaurant chains and shopping in fashionable Georgetown boutiques.
LaRose says he has made several appeals to the Biden-Harris administration seeking access to DHS databases, “specifically the Person Centric Query Service (PCQS) database, the Person Centric Identity Services (PCIS) database, and the Central Index System.”
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has intervened on the secretary of state’s behalf, demanding answers from Mayorkas on his failure to assist LaRose in securing Ohio’s elections. Jordan, who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the matter is particularly pressing “in light of the open-border policies of the Biden-Harris Administration” that have led to unprecedented millions of illegal immigrants pouring into the United States. As The Federalist has extensively reported, thousands of foreign nationals have shown up on voters rolls in states across the country, including hundreds of names this year that LaRose has ordered removed from Ohio’s voter registration database.
“Given Secretary LaRose’s state and federal statutory responsibilities to guarantee that only lawfully registered citizens vote in Ohio federal elections, his request for access to DHS’s citizenship verification databases is a ‘purpose authorized by law,’ and you must grant it accordingly,” Jordan wrote in the Sept. 27 letter to Mayorkas.
As the congressman noted, federal law requires DHS to respond to the LaRose’s requests. The specific code states the agency “shall respond to an inquiry by a Federal, State, or local government agency, seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information.”
In a statement to The Federalist, LaRose said he’s “tired of the stonewalling and delays from the Department of Homeland Security.”
“I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the Biden-Harris administration is pursuing the most porous border policy in our nation’s history while also ghosting us on our efforts to keep noncitizens from voting,” the Republican secretary of state said.
‘A Constitutional Duty’
Mayorkas’ intransigence in granting Ohio access to critical election integrity databases should come as no surprise from an administration led by a president who has threatened to veto legislation requiring documented proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. President Joe Biden’s threat proved unnecessary. While the Republican-led House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, the legislation received minuscule support from Democrats. Meanwhile, the Democrat-controlled Senate refused to take up the measure.
Democrats have shrugged off growing concerns about the untold thousands of noncitizens on voter rolls across the country, insisting that it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections. Illegal immigration also is illegal, but that hasn’t stopped the Biden-Harris administration from opening the borders wide to historic numbers of illegal aliens.
What is unknown is how many foreign nationals have ended up on voter rolls thanks to “Bidenbucks,” Biden’s constitutionally suspect executive order using federal agencies as a get-out-the-vote machine for Democrats. The order allows White House-approved third-party organizations to help register and mobilize voters.
While Mayorkas stonewalls, Attorney General Merrick Garland is targeting states that have worked to clean their voter rolls of ineligible voters. The Department of Justice on Friday filed a lawsuit against Virginia after the commonwealth removed some 6,300 foreign nationals from its voter rolls between January 2022 and July 2024. DOJ’s complaint asserts such voter roll maintenance programs must occur no later than 90 days before an election, the so-called Quiet Period Provision.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin called the strong-arm tactic an “unprecedented lawsuit,” according to a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. Youngkin noted DOJ is targeting his state “for appropriately enforcing a Virginia law, signed by then-Gov. Tim Kaine [a Democrat] in 2006, that requires Virginia to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls — a process that begins when an individual themselves indicates they are a noncitizen during a DMV transaction.”
Garland’s DOJ filed a similar lawsuit against Alabama late last month.
As the Biden-Harris administration goes after states for removing noncitizens from their voter databases, it refuses to work with states to verify voter eligibility. Why?
In his letter, Jordan asks Mayorkas to explain why he’s failed to respond to LaRose’s four requests for access to the federal citizen verification databases. Mayorkas already has failed to meet Jordan’s request that DHS provide access to the databases at least 30 days prior to the Nov. 5 presidential election, “as required by law.” Mayorkas, who in February became the first cabinet secretary in nearly 150 years to be impeached, also has failed to turn over documents and communications relating to LaRose’s request.
“I have a constitutional duty to ensure that noncitizens aren’t participating in Ohio’s elections, and the federal government is legally obligated to provide this information,” Ohio’s secretary of state said. “I appreciate Congressman Jordan’s willingness to stand with me in demanding answers.”
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.
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