During a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Wednesday, Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY) pressed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on comments she made about ensuring “the right people” vote in U.S. elections, raising concerns about whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could play a direct role at polling places.
Goldman began by referencing a recent press conference in which Noem said the administration had been “proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.” He asked what “proactive measures” DHS had taken to achieve that goal.
Noem responded that DHS’s role is to protect critical infrastructure, which she claimed by statute includes election systems. She said the department works with state officials to identify vulnerabilities and help them strengthen election security.
Goldman quickly pivoted to a more controversial possibility that has circulated in recent debates: the deployment of immigration agents at polling sites. He noted that during testimony before the Senate the previous day, Noem said she had “no plans” to station agents at polling locations and asked if that remained her position.
Noem confirmed that she currently has no such plans. Goldman argued that the answer left open the possibility that plans could change, saying she was unwilling to rule out the idea entirely.
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The exchange then turned to the broader issue of voter fraud. Goldman referenced data compiled by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, which he said showed that from 1992 through 2024 only ten undocumented immigrants were found to have committed voter fraud out of roughly two billion ballots cast. He stated that the numbers demonstrate that noncitizen voting is not a meaningful problem in U.S. elections.
Noem rejected the suggestion that she had cited voter fraud as a reason to place immigration agents at polling places. At the same time, she said even a single instance of an improper vote is concerning and doubled down on the claim that there is evidence of illegal immigrants voting in elections.
Goldman responded that isolated cases do not materially affect election outcomes and called out the administration for using the issue as a pretext to intimidate voters at polling locations. Noem countered by accusing Goldman of wanting undocumented immigrants to be allowed to vote in elections—a characterization he promptly rejected.
The questioning then shifted to reports of a draft executive order related to election security. Goldman described a circulating proposal that would declare a national emergency, authorize the seizure of voting machines, and ban mail-in ballots.
Noem said she had not seen the document and had not discussed it with anyone at the White House. Goldman pressed her on whether DHS would have constitutional authority to seize voting machines, voter rolls, or restrict mail voting.
Noem said she had not conducted a legal analysis on those questions and reiterated that DHS’s primary role is identifying vulnerabilities in election infrastructure and providing recommendations to states.
Goldman ended the exchange by arguing that understanding the scope of DHS authority is essential if the department is responsible for election security, suggesting that the secretary should be able to clearly define the limits of that authority.
