'Compromised': NY Gov Hochul says federal government can't be trusted on election security
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) says New York doesn’t have the election security resources it needs ahead of the November midterm elections, telling @margbrennan “the federal government has basically been dismantling all the protections that we've come to rely on to protect this core… pic.twitter.com/IvxWXPAuNx
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 19, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: New York Governor Kathy Hochul accused the federal government of dismantling the state's election security and alleged that the government cannot be trusted with anything because it is “compromised.”
The election security battle has intensified following the president’s recent prime-time speech, where he alleged that the 2020 general election was “stolen” and foreign players were involved in the rigging of the election.
Kathy Hochul criticizes federal voter registration records review
Appearing on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’, NY Gov Kathy Hochul took aim at the federal government, accusing it of trying to dismantle New York’s secure election measures.
“The federal government has basically been dismantling all the protections that we've come to rely on to protect this core essence of our democracy,” Hochul said as she clarified that New York doesn’t have the election security resources it needs ahead of the November midterm elections.
Hochul’s interview came after DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced that the department is enforcing a nationwide "scrub" of voter registration lists and election records.
She accused the administration of raising doubts about the election because of concerns over the upcoming results. She labeled the federal government’s action as an act of undermining confidence in the electoral process.
Mullin claims DHS will “scrub all election records” and asserts that dead people are voting pic.twitter.com/UPSEsT68FD
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 17, 2026
Hochul argued that Americans should be able to cast their ballots knowing their votes will not be challenged or compromised.
Hochul claims federal government intimidated minority communities
The NY governor accused the federal government of trying to instill fear among Black and Brown communities.
“Black and Brown communities across our country and in New York, where they're all of a sudden on election day to create that fear factor and intimidation factor that they're so good at,” she said.
Hochul said that she doesn't want to “compromise the validity of our election. So, we're working hard on this here. I'll make sure that we are protected.”
She also accused the federal government of being compromised and untrustworthy. “I can’t count on the federal government for anything these days because they're compromised.”
Hochul signs Voting Act to keep ICE away
Hochul expressed concern over the possibility of ICE showing up at polling stations.
“We passed the John Rights Voting Act. We have the toughest protections in the country, and just recently, I signed a law, many, many protections against what ICE is doing, to say ICE agents cannot show up at polling places,” she said.