CT election officials in the dark about DHS 'criminal voter fraud surge'
Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said she learned of the surge from CNN, not federal officials. She said voters are already confused and "afraid."
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Starting Tuesday, Connecticut is the target of a weekslong “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge” by federal immigration agents just seven weeks before early voting begins, according to a report from CNN.
But state election leaders said they are in the dark about the operation.
“Our office has not been contacted by the Department of Homeland Security about any intent to investigate here,” said Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas. “And of this morning, we have not been notified by any registrar of voters or town clerks of any activities in their towns.”
Thomas said she has not reached out to DHS yet either.
“WE WILL FIND YOU”
CNN first reported the operation involving Homeland Security Investigations “to pursue investigative leads, conduct field interviews and support timely prosecutorial review,” according to federal guidance reviewed by the network.
HSI is the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the agency typically handles drug smuggling and human trafficking cases.
DHS would not reveal details.
“While ICE Homeland Security Investigations is not able to comment on any active investigations, HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found,” a spokesperson told News 12 Connecticut. “Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: we will find you, arrest you and you will face the consequences.”
DHS claims it uncovered 25,000 non-citizens registered to vote. But federal prosecutors only charged 41 people with illegally voting, according to a recent ProPublica investigation.
DEMOCRAT-LED STATES TARGETED
New York and seven other Democrat-led states are also targets of the surge, which will last through mid-October, according to CNN. Like Connecticut, the other states refused to hand over detailed voter rolls to the U.S. Justice Department over privacy concerns. A federal recently sided with Connecticut; the Trump administration has appealed.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin insisted there is no political motive during a Tuesday morning news conference in New York City.
“ICE isn't there to patrol the polling places. We’re there to enforce specific threats,” he said. “The only reason why we would be at polling places is if there is a threat to that polling place.”
The move also comes days after ICE agents arrested approximately 100 people in Stamford and Danbury.
“Voters here are already afraid,” Thomas said. “Connecticut has laws on the books to protect voters, election workers, and election sites.”
Documented cases of non-citizens voting are rare, but Connecticut Republicans said that’s because security is lax.
“We welcome the scrutiny,” said state Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco (R-Wolcott), the top Republican on the Legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee. “They don’t know because we don't track anything. We have no measures in place to ensure that if you are a legal voter, that you’re able to vote.”
