On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued its “2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan.” The plan, which boasts “protect critical infrastructure” as a pretext, threatens election integrity in numerous ways. While the program is being referred to as voluntary, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin emphatically declared that it “will be implemented in full.”
“Election security is national security,” said Mullin via a press release. “Under the leadership of President Trump, CISA has returned to its core mission to protect critical infrastructure. This plan, which will be implemented in full, is crucial to the security, freeness, and fairness of choosing the leaders of our country. Making America safe again isn’t just done at the border, in our streets, and on the coast—it’s also done in protecting the integrity of American elections.”
In July, Mullin declared that the Trump administration will continue to withhold state support for election security and funding for terrorism prevention if they refuse to use the White House’s flawed Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system for elections. The SAVE system was originally designed to screen for undocumented immigrants applying for social services. Mullin went so far as to threaten election officials with “potential fines and imprisonment” for conspiring to allow noncitizens on the voter rolls. In July, the Department of Justice (DOJ) also threatened to charge election officials, echoing Mullin.
“In addition, several provisions of federal law make it unlawful for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, and an election officer could be criminally liable for aiding and abetting under 18 U.S.C. §2 for the violation of any of these provisions or knowingly including noncitizens on the state’s SVRL [State Voter Registration List],” reads a July DOJ memo.
CISA has previously provided states support in securing election infrastructure. However, the new plan attempts to integrate the federal government into local and state elections, where it has no constitutional authority. The implementation of this supposed “voluntary” program is being carried out through coercive invitations. According to Mullin, noncompliance with the Trump administration’s highly dubious measures could be treated as criminal acts.
“If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections, and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time,” said Mullin in July.
The integration of the federal government occurs through Fusion Centers, which are run by states but operate on the free flow of civilian data with the federal government, resembling those used by law enforcement. While states still officially have control of their elections, this plan opens the door to interference by intelligence agencies under the direction of senior leadership or even a sitting president.
“Fusion centers are owned and operated by the states; an election information-sharing model built on Fusion Centers keeps the function under state control and aligned with the constitutional role of states in administering elections,” reads the Election Infrastructure Security Plan.
CISA, which does not have a Senate-confirmed director, is a shell of what it once was after being subjected to massive cuts to cybersecurity initiatives to protect elections and laying off more than 1,000 employees. The implementation of such an expansive program is seemingly only possible using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The election security plan details the integration, highlighting just how complex and likely irreversible it is.
“For the 2026 election cycle, CISA is supporting an information-sharing platform to exchange intelligence and situational updates in a familiar, low-barrier environment,” reads the Plan. “All Fusion Centers and State and Local election officials will have access to this information-sharing tool at no cost. The platform supports near real-time communications and gives officials a single, accessible space to receive indicators, ask questions, and coordinate with peers and federal partners. Federal partners, Fusion Centers, Federal Agencies, and CISA Central will be actively engaged on the platform for day-to-day communication with state and local election officials.”
DHS uses AI throughout various agencies, including CISA. According to DHS’s 2025 AI inventory reports, CISA uses an “Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS) service” which provides “Automated Detection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in Cybersecurity Data.” The service allows “public and private-sector organizations to voluntarily share real-time cyber threat information with CISA.” What information is deemed a threat is questionable, but based on statements made by the White House cabinet members, anything they deem a threat is enough.
“Although the purpose of this service is to collect information directly related to potential cyber threats, there is a possibility that Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as names or addresses, could be incidentally included in submission notes,” reads the CISA AI deployment website.
With threats of federal agents at polling places, ICE spending millions to comb through voter data, and DHS targeting voters in non-English-speaking communities, the Trump administration is targeting voter access under the guise of securing elections and by relating election fraud to immigration. In doing so, the White House can rationalize deploying domestic surveillance and federal law enforcement powers against voters at the local and state levels.
Releasing the plan just 40 days before an election is telling.
*After publishing this article, a CISA spokesperson responded to questions about the agency’s use of AI to administer this new plan:
“CISA works with critical infrastructure owners and operators to assist them in securing the physical security and cybersecurity of systems that support the nation’s election process. As directed by Secretary Mullin, CISA has released an updated election infrastructure security plan outlining available no cost voluntary services—including threat information sharing, technical expertise, vulnerability scanning, and other risk mitigation support. As part of our statutory mission, election infrastructure security demands that we remain responsive, adaptive, and strategic, and we are constantly assessing our operational needs as the threat landscape evolves. CISA is committed to supporting state and local election officials to protect election infrastructure and safeguard our democracy.”
In other words, they didn’t deny it. Scary times, folks.
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