DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in Washington he would apply "maximum pressure" against states that refuse to work with his department on election security. File Photo by Daniel Heuer/UPI | License Photo
July 17 (UPI) -- The Department of Homeland Security on Friday ramped up the Trump administration's efforts to address what the president claims are lapses in election security, threatening state officials with prison time if they don't comply with federal demands.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in Washington he would apply "maximum pressure" against states that refuse to work with his department.
The Trump administration has focused on noncitizens allegedly casting ballots, which experts say is extremely rare, and the possibility that voting machines can be hacked -- although they are, by design, never connected to the internet.
"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," Mullin told reporters.
