Department of Homeland Security Launching Investigation Into Alleged Voter Fraud in Several States Including Wisconsin

Thursday, September 3rd, 2026 -- 11:00 AM

(Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) The Department of Homeland Security is launching a criminal investigation focused on alleged voter fraud in multiple states, including Wisconsin, according to a report from CNN, according to Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio.

According to internal federal guidance cited by CNN, the investigative “surge” will take place in nine states beginning on Tuesday and run until mid-October. That probe comes ahead of November’s elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Sinceree Dixon, a spokesperson for Wisconsin’s League of Women Voters, said the timing is concerning. “We feel like they were intentionally doing this ahead of the midterms to stir more controversy, to continue to try to control the narrative and stoke fear and division in people about election fraud,” Dixon said. “It’s really a waste of our tax dollars, a waste of resources to be looking into something that is a complete non-issue.”

Voter fraud is extremely rare in the U.S., research shows. Nonetheless, the President has repeatedly cast unsubstantiated aspersions about the legitimacy of U.S. elections. That includes denying that he lost the 2020 presidential election, even after Joe Biden’s victory was affirmed by a series of recounts and multiple state and federal courts.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency could not comment on any active investigations but said the department’s Homeland Security Investigations division “is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found.”

The statement continued, “HSI is committed to restoring integrity to our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders.” The Department of Homeland Security is a federal agency that oversees immigration and border control.

It’s also involved with countering transnational crime, such as terrorism and drug smuggling. As the midterm elections approach, the President has continued to amplify claims about noncitizens voting in U.S. elections.

Doing so is illegal in federal and almost all local elections, and it could result in a felony charge. Research from the Brennan Center for Justice and other sources has found that voting by noncitizens is exceedingly rare.

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