States to get citizenship lists before voters can check for errors, new memo on Trump’s anti-voting order makes clear

The first phase of President Donald Trump’s executive order to build a national voter list is expected to be implemented by June 30, according to a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo.

Alarmingly, the memo makes clear that state election officials are set to gain access to citizenship data weeks or months before voters have a way to check whether the federal government’s records about them are accurate. That could lead to voters being wrongly removed from the rolls, with little or no recourse.

The government “does not believe it is feasible to deliver a production ready citizen facing portal on or about June 30, 2026” — the date by which state officials will have access to the data — the memo states.

The memo was filed Thursday as part of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) ongoing legal effort to block the order. 

If allowed to stand, the order — which was issued in March and which election experts have said is blatantly unconstitutional — could have a major impact on voting in the midterm elections by significantly restricting mail voting. It aims to ensure that only voters on a federal government list can receive a mail ballot.

The administration’s steps to implement the order or crucial to Democrats’ argument that courts should step in now and block it, rather than wait until the new system is fully operational and voters are already at risk of being affected.

The June 8 memo details the Trump administration’s revised plan and timeline for creating a national voter list and for when it can be used to impose rules that could severely curtail mail voting.

According to the memo, DHS is “on track” to finish building out a portal by June 30 that will allow state election officials to access lists of verified U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state. The list of eligible citizens for each state draws data from DHS, the Department of State (DOS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The memo says that individual citizens will eventually be able to use the portal to look up their own voting records and “submit corrections” some time later this year, but that this won’t be possible by June 30th

When Trump signed his latest anti-voting order — directing the USPS to send mail ballots only to voters on lists created and controlled by DHS and the SSA — the DSCC and several pro-voting groups immediately sued*. The plaintiffs argued that such a decree is flagrantly unconstitutional and asked a federal judge to block the order.

But U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols last month declined to block the order, ruling that it’s premature to stop the Trump administration from building a national voter list to control mail ballots since federal agencies hadn’t yet begun implementation. Since then, the Trump administration has shifted its strategy for implementing the anti-voting order — possibly in hopes of buying more time.

The newly filed memo could undercut the administration’s argument that the order remains too speculative to block. It says USCIS is already working toward the order’s core goal: giving states access to citizenship-related data by the end of the month.

The DHS memo explains that in the first phase of implementing the anti-voting order, state election officials will be allowed to access separate citizenship lists via the portal using data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), SSA and DOS. Each list will have citizenship data that includes “name, date of birth, and relevant agency identifiers.”

“In practice, state election officials will be provided access to a portal via Login.gov,” the memo states. “Via that portal, States will be able to download separate outputs from USCIS, SSA, and DOS, subject to agency-specific terms of service and disclaimers.”

The memo also indicates that USCIS plans to keep developing the voter-facing portal later in 2026, after what it describes as additional legal, privacy and technical work. But for now, the administration is prioritizing access for state officials over access for individual citizens who may need to correct government records.

The memo also states that USCIS is “exploring” the option of coordinating with USPS to “leverage USPS data related to mail-in and absentee ballot participation lists.” Previously, DHS floated using USPS data to monitor mail-in and absentee ballot flows and identify potential fraud or misuse. The new memo offers few details, but it keeps open the possibility that mail voting data could be tied to the administration’s broader citizenship list project.

“No determination has yet been rendered as to the feasibility, desirability, or legality of such an approach,” the memo states.

Still, the memo makes clear that USPS coordination remains under consideration. 

The document says USCIS is exploring the concept “in coordination with the Postmaster General” and that more policy and legal input would be needed before moving forward.

The memo also suggests that the administration is trying to move quickly by relying on existing federal systems and privacy frameworks, rather than creating a fully new process before June 30.

“Meeting this accelerated mandate requires solutions that can be implemented rapidly,” the memo states.

The memo adds that the digital portal approach meets those criteria by “building upon existing agency systems and privacy frameworks” and “placing reconciliation and integration responsibilities with the States.”

That language could raise additional concerns for voting rights advocates because it suggests states may be left to decide how to use, reconcile and integrate federal citizenship data — even as eligible voters lack an immediate way to check or correct their own records through the portal.

The timing of the memo’s disclosure could also become an issue in the case. Although the memo is dated June 8, it was not filed in court until Thursday, one day after the Democratic plaintiffs’ opening brief was due in their appeal seeking to block the order.

The Trump administration’s latest filing comes as the fight over the order is moving quickly in federal court. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently fast-tracked the DSCC’s appeal after Nichols refused to block the order last month. 

The Trump administration and Republican states defending the order must respond by June 29, and the plaintiffs’ reply is due July 6.

For now, the anti-mail voting order remains in effect. But the newly filed DHS memo shows that the administration is actively building the infrastructure needed to carry out key parts of the order while the legal fight continues. That could convince the appeals court to step in. 

*The Democratic plaintiffs in this case are represented by Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG firm chair, Marc Elias, is the founder of Democracy Docket.