ICE to Pay Up to $5 Million for National Voter Database

September 2, 2026 at 11:32 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to award a contract worth up to $5 million to create a national voter database. The agency published an acquisition forecast on Monday detailing the contract, which will support Homeland Security Investigations fraud detection. The final contract is expected to be published next Monday and awarded soon after, with the term expiring September 30.

Key Facts

ICE will pay between $2 million and $5 million for the voter database contract.
The contract term expires on September 30, 2026.
The contractor must be able to obtain voter registration data from all 50 states.
ICE is seeking voting history data for each federal election, including general, primary, runoff, and special elections.
The contracting officer is Michael Royer, section chief at Homeland Security Investigations.

Contract Details

ICE published an acquisition forecast document on Monday revealing the contract value between $2 million and $5 million. The final contract is expected to be published next Monday and awarded soon after, with the term expiring on September 30. The successful contractor must have the capability to obtain publicly available voter registration files from all 50 states. ICE will initially provide a list of specific states for data acquisition.

Data Scope and Privacy

ICE is seeking voting history data for each federal election specified by the government, including general, primary, runoff, and special federal elections. The data may include party affiliation, though the document states the contractor will not be asked to collect and share party affiliation data fields unless explicitly directed in writing by the contracting officer. Experts believe collecting party affiliation could violate the right to privacy for US voters. The contracting officer is Michael Royer, section chief at Homeland Security Investigations.

Broader Election Integrity Efforts

ICE's effort is part of a broader Department of Homeland Security and Trump administration push to undermine trust in the upcoming midterm elections. The Department of Justice has been seeking a national voter database by demanding unredacted voter rolls from states, but states and courts have pushed back. DHS has threatened to withhold emergency preparedness and counterterrorism funding from states that refuse to implement White House election policies. The agency has also threatened to deport voters suspected of voting illegally, even without criminal convictions.