ICE/HSI Moves Toward a $2–5 Million Voter-Data Contract — But It Has Not Been Awarded — Is America Better Yet?

By Roberto Zapatero
Independent Forensic Investigative Journalist, Is America Better Yet?

September 5, 2026
Developing Story | Living Record

The Department of Homeland Security is moving toward a potentially multimillion-dollar contract to obtain and handle voter-registration and voting-history files for Homeland Security Investigations, according to federal procurement records.

The government has not awarded that contract.

That distinction is important.

But the government's own records now show something more developed than the initial request for information that appeared in August.

A DHS acquisition forecast published August 31, 2026 identifies a new requirement called “Public Voter Data and Handling.”

It estimates the potential contract at $2 million to $5 million, describes it as a planned firm-fixed-price definitive contract, and lists an anticipated solicitation date of September 7.

The stated purpose is to obtain data services supporting HSI's ongoing “fraud detection and analytical initiatives.”

That does not mean ICE already possesses a new nationwide voter database through this procurement.

It means the government has moved from asking industry what it can provide toward planning an actual acquisition.

It began with an RFI

On August 25, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations division posted a federal notice identified as:

HSIvoter26 — Public Voter File Acquisition and Handling

Its stated purpose was the handling and secure delivery of publicly available voter-registration files and voter-history files for HSI fraud detection and data-segmentation activities.

But the original notice carried an important warning:

It was a Request for Information, or RFI.

The government explicitly said it was conducting market research.

It said the notice was not a solicitation, did not request proposals, and did not commit the government to purchasing anything.

The response period closed August 28.

That meant it would have been inaccurate to report that ICE had already awarded a voter-data contract.

It still would be.

Then DHS published something new

Three days after the RFI closed, DHS published Acquisition Planning Forecast F2026075233.

The record changes what we know about the government's intentions.

It identifies:

Agency: ICE / Homeland Security Investigations
Requirement: Public Voter Data and Handling
Status: New Requirement
Contract vehicle: Definitive Contract
Contract type: Firm Fixed Price
Competition: Yes
Estimated value: $2 million to $5 million
Expected solicitation: September 7, 2026
Anticipated award: Fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026
Listed completion date: September 30, 2026
Place of performance: Arlington, Virginia

DHS describes the purpose this way:

The acquisition is intended to procure data services supporting HSI's ongoing fraud-detection and analytical initiatives.

That is considerably more specific than merely asking vendors what services they might be able to provide.

It is still a forecast.

But it is a forecast for a contemplated contract.

What voter information does HSI want?

The draft Statement of Work accompanying the original HSIvoter26 notice provides the clearest available picture.

It contemplates obtaining public voter-registration files from government-designated jurisdictions, with the contractor capable of acquiring records from:

• all 50 states;
• the District of Columbia;
• U.S. territories; and
• other jurisdictions designated by the government.

The draft also contemplates obtaining separate voter-history files where those records are publicly available.

Those histories could cover federal:

• general elections;
• primary elections;
• runoff elections; and
• special elections.

The draft describes annual acquisition of voter-registration files from designated jurisdictions and requires secure handling, delivery, chain-of-custody documentation and file-integrity verification.

Voting history is not your vote

An important distinction for readers:

A voter-history record generally identifies whether someone participated in an election.

It does not reveal which candidate that person voted for.

The secret ballot remains secret.

But a large collection combining voter-registration information with election-participation histories could still create a substantial analytical database.

What HSI intends to do with such a database therefore matters.

The agency says the purpose is fraud detection and data segmentation.

The full operational methodology has not yet been established in the public procurement record we have reviewed.

What about party affiliation?

The draft procurement material also addresses political-party information.

According to the published description of the draft requirement, party-affiliation information is ordinarily excluded.

However, the draft allows that information to be provided if the contracting officer specifically directs its acquisition.

That provision deserves continued scrutiny because it distinguishes information HSI expects to obtain routinely from information that apparently would require additional written direction.

It does not establish that HSI has ordered a contractor to collect party affiliation.

No such award or direction has been located.

Why is Homeland Security Investigations doing this?

That question is not completely answered by the procurement records.

HSI is the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Its traditional responsibilities include transnational crime, smuggling, financial crimes, trafficking, customs violations and other federal investigations.

The procurement documents describe the voter-data project as supporting fraud detection and data segmentation.

But the public records reviewed for this article do not yet fully explain:

• which suspected offenses will be investigated;
• how voters will be selected for analysis;
• what other federal databases may be compared with voter records;
• which agencies could receive resulting information;
• how long HSI would retain the data;
• what confidence thresholds would be required before an investigative lead is generated; or
• what procedures would protect eligible voters from false matches.

Those are not reasons to assume wrongdoing.

They are reasons to obtain the records.

The larger voter-data investigation

The planned acquisition comes as federal agencies are already seeking voter information from states and using citizenship databases in election-related investigations.

Those activities are unfolding through several different mechanisms, including Justice Department voter-file requests, citizenship-verification systems, subpoenas, criminal investigations and litigation.

They should not automatically be treated as one coordinated program unless evidence establishes that connection.

The HSI procurement is nevertheless important because it could create a federal mechanism for purchasing voter-registration and participation-history files at scale rather than obtaining them state by state through individual requests.

Whether that happens will depend on what appears in the actual solicitation and any eventual contract.

Market research is not a contract

This point deserves repeating because procurement terminology can make an early-stage federal project sound more advanced than it is.

An RFI asks the marketplace for information.

An acquisition forecast tells vendors that an agency expects it may purchase something.

A solicitation formally asks companies to compete for the work.

An award identifies the selected contractor and creates the contractual obligation.

As of this reporting:

RFI: Yes.

Acquisition forecast: Yes.

Planned $2–5 million value: Yes.

Planned definitive contract: Yes.

Actual solicitation: Not yet located.

Selected vendor: Not yet located.

Contract award: Not yet located.

Evidence that $5 million has been obligated: No.

That is the current evidentiary line.

September 7 is the next important date

DHS's acquisition forecast lists September 7, 2026, as the estimated release date for the solicitation.

That document could answer questions the RFI cannot.

Is America Better Yet? will compare any solicitation against the August draft requirement.

We will look specifically for changes involving:

• jurisdictions covered;
• voter-registration fields;
• voter-history fields;
• party affiliation;
• citizenship information;
• permitted database matching;
• file-security requirements;
• chain of custody;
• retention periods;
• sharing with other agencies;
• contractor access;
• subcontractors;
• legal restrictions;
• period of performance; and
• the final contract value.

If the government awards the contract, we will identify the vendor, amount, scope and governing terms.

Until then, we will not call it an awarded contract.

Why this matters

Public voter files are not inherently secret.

States routinely make portions of voter-registration information available under their own laws, although access, allowable uses and protected fields vary significantly by jurisdiction.

The consequential question here is different.

What happens when a federal law-enforcement agency acquires those records across many jurisdictions, combines them for analysis and potentially compares them with other government information?

The answer depends on details that have not yet become public.

Who is searched?

What constitutes a match?

What generates an investigative lead?

What happens when records disagree?

How are naturalized citizens or people with outdated government records protected from false identification?

Who can access the resulting database?

And what happens to the information after the investigation ends?

Those questions should be answered from contracts, policies and records — not assumptions.

What the evidence establishes

DHS has publicly documented plans for a new HSI voter-data acquisition.

The planned contract is estimated at $2 million to $5 million.

The government is contemplating a competitive, firm-fixed-price definitive contract.

The earlier draft requirement contemplates acquiring voter-registration and voter-history records from jurisdictions across the United States.

The expected solicitation date is September 7.

What the evidence does not establish

There is currently no verified public record showing that:

• HSIvoter26 has been awarded;
• ICE has paid a contractor $2 million to $5 million;
• HSI obtained every state's voter file through this procurement;
• party-affiliation information has been ordered;
• the database is being used to target voters because of their political beliefs;
• voter records acquired through this procurement have been used in the separate HSI election-fraud initiative; or
• any eligible voter has lost voting rights because of this planned acquisition.

Those questions remain open unless records establish otherwise.

Living Record: What we are watching

Is America Better Yet? will continue tracking HSIvoter26 and DHS forecast F2026075233.

The next critical records are:

the promised solicitation;

any amendments;

the final Statement of Work;

vendor questions and government answers that become public;

award notices;

the selected contractor;

contract value;

period of performance;

task or delivery orders;

data-security and retention provisions;

and any records showing how acquired voter information is actually used.

If the procurement changes from planning to operation, we will update this story.

Stay with the story.

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Sources

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Acquisition Planning Forecast System, Forecast F2026075233 — “Public Voter Data and Handling,” published August 31, 2026.
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement / Homeland Security Investigations, HSIvoter26 — “Public Voter File Acquisition and Handling,” Request for Information, posted August 25, 2026.
• Draft Statement of Work accompanying HSIvoter26, describing acquisition, handling, chain-of-custody and delivery requirements for voter-registration and voter-history files.

Reporting and verification note

This article distinguishes among a Request for Information, an acquisition forecast, a solicitation and an awarded federal contract. As of the reporting check for this article, no public award record was located establishing that HSIvoter26 or the related planned acquisition had become an operational contract.

Artificial intelligence was used to assist with research organization, drafting, editing and verification. AI-generated material was not treated as evidence. Factual claims were checked against identifiable records before publication.

Roberto Zapatero remains responsible for the reporting, writing, sourcing, editorial judgment and final published text.

AI assists Is America Better Yet? with research organization, drafting, editing and verification. AI output is never treated as evidence. Facts are checked against identifiable sources before publication.

Copyright © 2026 Roberto Zapatero / Is America Better Yet? All rights reserved.

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— Roberto

https://www.isamericabetteryet.org/