Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said Congress has opportunities to strengthen federal election law while emphasizing that the Justice Department should fully enforce statutes already on the books regarding federal elections.
Speaking about election security, Dhillon outlined several areas where she believes Congress could revise existing laws governing elections.
“There are gaps that Congress could fill by updating, for example, Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act, UOCAVA, and the Voting Rights Act.”
She noted that any legislative changes would ultimately be the responsibility of lawmakers.
“And so, you know, that’s for Congress to do. They certainly could make things better.”
Dhillon also referenced pending election legislation that continues to be debated in Washington.
“You know, the SAVE Act is pending and the subject of national discussion right now.”
Turning to election administration, Dhillon said voter identification requirements remain an important safeguard.
“I think voter ID is a critical measure.”
She also pointed to previous bipartisan discussions surrounding absentee and mail-in voting, arguing that the issue has been examined by officials from both major political parties.
“And historically both parties have questioned whether mail balloting, the Carter-Baker Commission, you know, mail balloting is is a safe and secure way of running our elections.”
According to Dhillon, Congress could choose to strengthen existing election procedures.
“So all of that could be tightened up.”
While discussing potential legislative reforms, Dhillon said she believes equal attention should be given to enforcing laws that already exist.
“But on top of that, we have federal criminal statutes on the books that for decades have almost never been enforced by the Department of Justice.”
She explained that her office recently contacted election officials across the country to remind them of those federal requirements.
“And so, you know, I sent out a notice to top election officials in 50 states, reminding them that knowingly allowing noncitizens to vote in federal elections in their states is a crime.”
Dhillon said the notice generated significant public reaction.
“And there’s a lot of pearl-clutching, hue and cry, and you know, running around like crazy.”
She maintained that her office is not creating new legal standards but instead enforcing laws that Congress has already enacted.
“But I don’t make the laws, I just enforce them.”
Dhillon concluded by emphasizing that the relevant federal statutes are already in place.
“And there are laws on the books that say that.”
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Throughout her remarks, Dhillon distinguished between legislative reforms that Congress could pursue and enforcement actions that she said fall within the Justice Department’s existing authority.
She argued that lawmakers may choose to modernize election laws, including provisions related to voter registration, voter identification and mail-in voting, while stressing that current federal criminal statutes governing federal elections should also be enforced.
According to Dhillon, strengthening election integrity involves both updating laws where Congress determines changes are appropriate and ensuring that existing federal statutes are consistently applied.
She said her recent outreach to election officials reflects that approach, emphasizing that her responsibility is to enforce the laws enacted by Congress rather than write new ones.
