{"id":127844,"date":"2025-12-03T12:31:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T17:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?p=127844"},"modified":"2026-01-11T10:29:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T15:29:37","slug":"landmark-settlement-to-safeguard-voter-rolls-identify-illegal-votes-secured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2025\/12\/03\/landmark-settlement-to-safeguard-voter-rolls-identify-illegal-votes-secured\/","title":{"rendered":"Landmark settlement to safeguard voter rolls, identify illegal votes secured"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Federal records confirm at least 165 non-citizens registered to vote in Indiana \u2014 21 cast ballots.<\/p>\n

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News release from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office:<\/p>\n

Attorney General Todd Rokita and Secretary of State Diego Morales secure landmark settlement to safeguard voter rolls, identify illegal votes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indianapolis, Indiana (December 3, 2025) – Federal records confirm at least 165 non-citizens registered to vote in Indiana \u2014 21 cast ballots In a major victory for election integrity \u2014 made possible by the cooperation of President Donald Trump\u2019s Department of Justice \u2014 Attorney General Todd Rokita and Secretary of State Diego Morales today announced the settlement of a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that forces the federal government to modernize citizenship verification tools and help prevent non-citizens from voting in elections nationwide.<\/p>\n

The agreement, filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, resolves lawsuits brought by Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Iowa to compel DHS to fulfill its statutory obligation to confirm the citizenship and immigration status of individuals in response to requests by state and local governments. Because of Indiana\u2019s leadership and persistence in bringing this lawsuit, the settlement now guarantees every state and territory in America \u2014 not just the four plaintiffs \u2014 will have access to these modernized federal verification tools for the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

Preliminary results from the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) verification process enshrined in the settlement confirm that at least 165 identified non-citizens have registered to vote in Indiana. Its verification data also helped confirm that at least 21 noncitizens have cast ballots in recent elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom day one, many individuals dismissed our work as a \u2018witch hunt\u2019\u2014but the facts speak for themselves: non-citizen voting is real here in our state, and even one illegal ballot undermines the trust we are told to have in our election processes and even the Republic itself,\u201d said Attorney General Rokita. \u201cThis settlement delivers the federal access we\u2019re entitled to under law, allowing the Secretary of State to swiftly remove ineligible voters from the rolls and fortify our system against future risks. Indiana\u2019s elections will be more transparent, fairer and more secure as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

The settlement follows Attorney General Rokita and Secretary Morales’ October 2024 request to USCIS for citizenship verification of over 585,000 Indiana voters who registered to vote without using a state-issued photo identification. After the Biden Administration failed to respond to the request, Attorney General Rokita and Secretary Morales filed suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a naturalized citizen, I deeply understand the privilege and responsibility that comes with the right to vote,\u201d said Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales. \u201cThis landmark settlement provides Indiana with long-overdue tools to protect the integrity of our elections. Hoosiers deserve absolute confidence that every lawful vote counts and that our voter rolls are accurate and secure. I am grateful for President Trump\u2019s leadership and his administration\u2019s commitment to upholding election integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the settlement, DHS has committed to making and preserving critical upgrades to its verification system\u2014known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program\u2014 including:<\/p>\n