星期三，监督组织“美国监督”起诉了美国国土安全部（DHS），此前该机构未能移交相关记录，以支持国土安全部长马克韦恩·马林关于25万名非美国公民曾在四个州投票的指控。
The watchdog group American Oversight sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday after the agency failed to turn over records to support Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s claim that 250,000 non-U.S. citizens haded to vote across four states.
该组织曾依据《信息自由法》（FOIA）向国土安全部提出信息公开请求，要求提供与马林所称数据有关的记录：据称，190832名非公民曾在加利福尼亚州投票，新泽西州为35152人，内华达州为15903人，宾夕法尼亚州为14576人。
The group had made Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests asking the department for records about Mullin’s claim that 190,832 alleged noncitizens wereed to vote in California, 35,152 in New Jersey, 15,903 in Nevada, and 14,576 in Pennsylvania.
“美国监督”执行主任齐奥马·丘克武在一份声明中表示：“如果过去只是序幕，那么每一位美国人都应当深感担忧：马林部长正利用自己的职务制造借口，以干预我们的选举。”
“If the past is prologue, every American should be deeply concerned that Secretary Mullin is using his office to manufacture a pretext for interfering in our elections,” Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement.
“国土安全部的说法至少已在一个州被推翻。我们也见过本届政府玩弄的老把戏：利用毫无依据的欺诈指控向选举官员施压，削弱公众对选举结果的信心。如果国土安全部有证据支持其说法，就应当向美国民众拿出实证。”马林首次提出这些说法是在7月的一次演讲中，就在特朗普总统发表黄金时段讲话、指控中国过去干预美国选举的次日。
“DHS’s claims have already unraveled in at least one state. And we’ve seen this administration’s playbook before: use unsupported allegations of fraud to pressure election officials and undermine public confidence in election results. If DHS has evidence to back up its claims, it should show the American people the receipts.”Mullin first made the claims in a July speech the day after President Trump gave a primetime address alleging past interference in U.S. elections by China.
然而，《国会山报》获得的国土安全部致各州函件副本显示，该部门公布的数字与其向各州通报的数字之间存在差距，而其如何得出最初估计值，几乎没有作出解释。
However, copies of letters sent to the states and obtained by The Hill found gaps in the numbers DHS publicized and those it communicated to states with little explanation for how it reached its topline estimate.
发给这四个州的函件显示，联邦政府通过“初步审查”发现，与其档案中的姓名及其他信息相匹配的人数不到上述数字的一半，仅为11.8万人。
The correspondence sent to the four states showed that the federal government, through a “preliminary review,” found less than half that number — 118,000 — matched names and other information in its files.
受到压力向国土安全部提供数据的官员还表示，他们不确定马林如何能够提出这一说法，因为他无权接触包含社会安全号码等个人信息的州选民名册。
Officials who were pressured to share their data also said they were unsure how Mullin would be able to make the claim since he doesn’t have access to state voter rolls that have personal information such as social security numbers.
“我对你的数据的可靠性以及你的说法的准确性存在严重怀疑，因为我的办公室从未将全州选民登记名单提供给国土安全部或任何其他联邦机构或官员。”加州州务卿雪莉·韦伯在今年夏天致国土安全部长马林的一封信中这样写道。
“I have serious doubts about the reliability of your data and accuracy of your claims, since my office has not shared our statewide voter registration list with DHS or any other federal agency or official,” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Mullin in a letter this summer.