The lawsuit, filed in Rhode Island and challenging Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security policies, argued that the administration is requiring states to change their elections systems and help DHS with immigration enforcement. The conditions would also allow DHS to terminate grants at any time and for any reason.
Among the requirements being challenged in Thursday's lawsuit is that states change their elelctions systems. They must transition to paper-ballot systems, conduct a manual audit of voting systems, reconcile voters and verify the citizenship of every registered voter in the state’s voter databases.
If states fail to comply, they risk losing at least 20% of their Homeland Security Grant Program funding. That money is used to fund measures to protect citizens from cyberattacks and terrorism.
Earlier this week, New Jersey's Democratic governor, Mikie Sherrill, admitted about 6,600 people who indicated they were noncitizens while obtaining New Jersey driver's licenses and other state IDs were improperly registered to vote in 2023 and 2024.
She blamed a Motor Vehicle Commission system software error.
