Fact‑Check: Noem Overstates DHS Authority Over U.S. Elections

PolitiFact examines Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s Feb. 13 claim that, as DHS chief, federal election authorities 'lie within my department' and that she is responsible for making sure 'votes are counted and tabulated' and 'the right people' are voting as she promoted the Trump‑backed SAVE America voter‑ID bill. The piece explains that under federal law the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a DHS component created in 2018, has a narrow, voluntary role: it offers cyber and physical security assistance to state and local election officials, but does not run elections, count votes, tabulate results or decide who is eligible to vote. Legal experts like Wendy Weiser of NYU’s Brennan Center are quoted saying 'there is no law' delegating power over elections to DHS, and that CISA’s election work is advisory only and initiated 'upon request' from states. The article notes that Noem’s later social‑media clarification framed her comments as focusing on preventing noncitizen voting, but her original language feeds into a broader Trump‑era push to portray DHS as having sweeping authority over elections at the same time the administration is seeking new federal voter‑ID and proof‑of‑citizenship mandates. The fact‑check pushes back on that narrative, underscoring that constitutional and statutory responsibility for administering elections remains with states and localities, with only limited, defined support roles for DHS.