Federal records released this week show Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gathered tens of millions of voter records and, as of July, was waiting on Palantir to load some of them into an expansive and controversial surveillance tool, known as ELITE [1][2][3]. Two days later, a federal judge struck down the Justice Department (DOJ) program that fed state voter files to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [4][6].
The same week, Anduril landed a Navy submarine contract worth up to $2.9 billion while its founder, Palmer Luckey, sits on the Pentagon’s new future-of-warfare study [9][7]. Surveillance camera maker Flock moved to cut about 18% of its staff as communities cancel its contracts [13][14].
The common thread: private technology is being wired into voting, war and policing faster than the oversight around it.
Did ICE try to turn voter rolls into deportation data?
What happened. Internal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit by Democracy Forward show HSI obtained 48.4 million voter records from “independent sources of information” and 50.6 million records from DOJ [2]. CNN, in reporting carried by Scripps stations, said the documents show DHS’s election-fraud operation relied on tens of millions of records [3].
A July HSI report said voter data from six states “are pending Palantir entry into ELITE,” the map-based tool Palantir built for ICE to identify, prioritize and locate people for immigration enforcement [1]. The states were Missouri, Michigan, New Mexico, Connecticut, Georgia and Kentucky [1].
Democracy Docket corrected its first report, which said ICE had shared the data; the documents say only that entry was “pending” as of July [1]. A source told the outlet the data “was not and is not integrated into ELITE” [1]. The Palantir link is reported by Democracy Docket alone, and its founder chairs Democracy Forward’s board [1].
The records also show HSI considered undercover investigations of voter registration nonprofits, starting in Pennsylvania and New Jersey [2]. The effort centered on Heather Honey, a longtime promoter of false 2020 election claims who is now a senior adviser to the ICE director [2].
Why it matters. State voter files hold little information on noncitizens, so their value to an immigration targeting tool is unclear [1]. Unredacted files can include partial Social Security and driver’s license numbers [1]. The documents show HSI described the data as “enriched” by its Innovation Lab without saying what was merged in [1].
The other side. Palantir has said it builds tools for DHS but does not control or retain the data in them [1]. The source who spoke to Democracy Docket said the data never reached ELITE [1]. Many states make voter registration records public, and much of the data may have been public information [1].
Open questions:
If Palantir does not control the data, why was HSI waiting on Palantir to enter it?
Should a vendor that builds an enforcement tool ever be the one loading voter files into it?
What does “enriched” mean when the government merges a voter file with other data?
A judge just shut down DOJ’s voter-roll pipeline. Does it matter before Nov. 3?
What happened. On Oct. 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled that DOJ’s effort to collect state voter rolls and check them against a federal immigration database was unlawful [6][5]. She vacated what DOJ internally called its “list maintenance project,” finding the department exceeded its authority [4].
DOJ had demanded unredacted voter rolls from 49 states and Washington, D.C. [4]. At least 18 states complied, and DHS ran their voters through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database [4][5]. DOJ’s Civil Rights Division also agreed to share state voter files with HSI [4].
The ruling covers files states turned over voluntarily, barring DOJ from using them in the nationwide program, including sharing them with DHS [4]. The case was brought by Common Cause and individual voters [4].
Key quote. “The challenged policy represents the federal government’s attempt to decide who gets to vote. But Congress has left that authority where our Constitution has always placed it: with the states,” Sooknanan wrote [6].
Why it matters. Sooknanan found the policy “has removed United States citizens from the voter rolls in their home states and risks disenfranchising many more” [4]. She said SAVE may hold outdated records that misidentify naturalized citizens [5]. Justin Levitt, a former DOJ voting rights official, wrote that the decision “effectively confirms that for the 18 states that submitted files willingly, whoever collected the files at DOJ Civil Rights committed federal crimes” [4]. That is Levitt’s view, not a finding of the court [4].
The other side. DOJ said it was reviewing the ruling [5]. The judge said states can still maintain their own rolls, including with SAVE, and that the decision “does not pave the way for ineligible voters to vote in our elections” [4]. Federal law already bars systematic voter roll reviews in the 90 days before a federal election, which may blunt the ruling’s effect on the midterms [6].
Open questions:
If DOJ loses the program, what happens to the voter files ICE already holds?
Is “election integrity” a real federal job, or a state job the federal government keeps trying to take?
Should the Supreme Court’s pause of Sooknanan’s June SAVE ruling make anyone confident this one sticks?
Should a top GOP fundraiser’s company build submarine parts it has never built before?
What happened. On Oct. 6, 2026, President Donald Trump announced a new $6.6 billion shipbuilding plant at Sparrows Point near Baltimore, owned by Anduril Industries [7]. Anduril said it will invest $3.7 billion and that the Navy awarded it a contract worth up to $2.9 billion, with payments tied to production outcomes [9]. The plant, called Arsenal-2, will build torpedo tubes and hull sections for Virginia-class attack submarines [8][7].
Anduril said the plant will not produce ship parts until 2030 [7]. The company projects 3,100 direct jobs [9]. Trump said taxpayers would “receive a 40% stake” in the shipyard; the Guardian reported it is unclear what he meant [7].
Why it matters. Anduril founder Palmer Luckey has given $5.9 million to Republican causes since 2017, the Guardian reported [7]. Days earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth placed Luckey on Project Meridian, the Pentagon’s future-of-warfare study [7][8]. The Guardian reported Anduril has no known history in building crewed submarines [7].
The other side. The Navy needs the capacity: shipyards have delivered 1.1 to 1.2 Virginia-class boats a year against a target of two [8]. Anduril said it is assuming most of the execution risk [9]. “It’s really the government buying the results of what we’re able to produce from the facility that we’ve invested in,” Anduril executive Christian Brose said [9]. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao called the plant a partnership “that breaks through bureaucratic red tape” [7].
Open questions:
Is “up to $2.9 billion” with pay-for-results a better deal for taxpayers than cost-plus, or just a bigger bet on an unproven builder?
What is the “40% stake” Trump described, and who holds it?
Should anyone advising the Pentagon on future weapons be bidding on its contracts the same month?
Hegseth wants a combatant command for autonomous war. Who is checking it?
What happened. In a Sept. 30, 2026, speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth announced plans for an Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM), a four-star command to scale drones and robotic systems [11][12]. A Pentagon memo says the command requires approval from Congress, with a target date of Oct. 1, 2027 [11]. It would hold its own manpower, budget and acquisition authorities [12].
Hegseth also launched Project Meridian, a 120-day study of future battlefields with findings due Jan. 28, 2027 [12]. Outlets describe the roles differently: GovConWire reported Elon Musk will co-direct it with Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich [12], Al Jazeera reported Luckey and Musk were tapped to lead it [8], and the Guardian called Luckey an adviser [7].
Why it matters. Hegseth said combat will be used, “when possible,” to compress innovation timelines [11]. Gabe Murphy of Taxpayers for Common Sense told The Intercept the command’s purpose is “to cut out the oversight that autonomous systems so desperately need by deploying untested autonomous weapons in combat” [10]. The Intercept noted ongoing questions over Palantir’s AI-enabled Maven Smart System, which it reported was used for targeting in Iran and “paved the way for the Minab strike” [10].
The other side. Hegseth argued “the pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it,” pointing to cheap drones and lessons from Ukraine [11]. He said the U.S. needs both expensive high-end weapons and “mass drones and other autonomous attritable systems that flip the cost exchange” [11]. Meridian is set to produce a public, unclassified final report along with a classified annex [12].
Open questions:
Should Congress approve a command whose stated model is testing weapons in live combat?
Can a study co-run by defense-industry founders recommend against the products they sell?
Who answers for a targeting error when the kill chain runs through a contractor’s software?
Is the backlash against Flock’s license plate cameras winning?
What happened. Flock Safety plans to cut about 18% of its staff, roughly 270 employees, after a voluntary buyout program, Reuters reported citing unnamed sources [13][15]. Flock runs about 120,000 AI-powered cameras across 49 states and serves more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies [13].
Advocacy group Secure Justice says 90 of the 214 cities that have dropped Flock since 2021 did so in August 2026 [14]. A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that a deputy’s search of a woman’s month-long location history through license plate readers violated her Fourth Amendment rights [14]. The ruling is not binding precedent [14].
Why it matters. “This is a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance,” Judge Sara E. Hill wrote [14]. Home Depot investors demanded reviews of surveillance partnerships after reports that Flock data was used in immigration enforcement [13]. TechCrunch reported dozens of police officers have been arrested, fired or forced to resign for abusing access to Flock’s system [15].
The other side. Flock says its technology helps investigate and solve crimes [13]. A Flock spokesperson called the cuts “a voluntary program, not a layoff” meant to position the company for growth [15]. Public opinion is split: a Reuters/Ipsos poll found 38% support Flock cameras in their community and 47% oppose them [13].
Open questions:
Is a voluntary buyout during mass contract cancellations a business decision or a retreat?
If the cameras catch crimes, who decides how long location history is kept and who can search it?
Should local contracts require a ban on sharing camera data with ICE?
Follow the money
Anduril / U.S. Navy: contract worth up to $2.9 billion, announced Oct. 6, 2026; payments tied to production [9].
Anduril private investment: $3.7 billion for Arsenal-2; combined value up to $6.6 billion [9].
Flock Safety: more than $950 million raised; a $275 million round in March valued it at $7.5 billion, per Reuters [13]. Mother Jones put its value above $8 billion [14].
Watch next week
DOJ’s response to the Sooknanan ruling. The department said it was reviewing the decision [5].
Flock’s departures. Affected employees leave at the end of October [15].
AUTOWARCOM’s plan. GovConWire reported the unmanned systems office has 30 days to submit a plan of action and milestones to Hegseth [12].
Midterms. Election Day is Nov. 3, inside the 90-day window that bars systematic voter roll reviews [6].
Next step for listeners: check your voter registration with your state election office before Nov. 3 [6].
Related reading
Palantalk - where we talk tech, no fascism.
Sources
Democracy Docket — ICE tried to share voter data with Peter Thiel’s Palantir, new documents show. By Jacob Knutson, published Oct 7, 2026
Democracy Docket — ICE amassed millions of voter records in sweeping fraud hunt, documents reveal. By Jacob Knutson, published Oct 7, 2026
news5cleveland.com — Records show ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters. By Gabe Cohen, Jeremy Herb, Tierney Sneed, CNN, published Oct 7, 2026
Democracy Docket — Federal judge shuts down Trump DOJ’s nationwide voter roll crusade, even in states that cooperated. By Yunior Rivas, published Oct 9, 2026
Al Jazeera — US judge rules Trump administration’s use of voter data unlawful. By Al Jazeera Staff, published Oct 9, 2026
whbl.com — US judge rules Justice Department use of voter rolls unlawful. By Thomson Reuters, published Oct 9, 2026
The Guardian — Trump announces $6.6bn defense shipyard owned by top Republican donor’s firm. By Aram Roston in Baltimore county, published Oct 6, 2026
Al Jazeera — US firm gets $2.9bn sub deal after boss joins war study with Musk. published Oct 6, 2026, updated Oct 7, 2026
defensenews.com — Anduril, US Navy invest $6.6 billion to boost submarine parts production. By Nathan Gomes and Shivansh Tiwary, Reuters, published Oct 6, 2026, updated Oct 7, 2026
The Intercept — Pete Hegseth’s Military of the Future: Defined by AI and an Utter Lack of Oversight. By Nick Turse, published Oct 8, 2026
twz.com — Vision For New Autonomous Warfare Command Laid Out By Pentagon. By Joseph Trevithick, published Sep 30, 2026
govconwire.com — Hegseth Unveils Project Meridian & 5 Other DOW Initiatives. By Jane Edwards, published Oct 1, 2026
The Guardian — AI surveillance startup Flock to cut several hundred jobs amid backlash, sources say. By Reuters, published Oct 9, 2026
Mother Jones — Amid Backlash, Surveillance Company Flock Is Cutting Staff. By Sophie Hurwitz, published Oct 10, 2026
techcrunch.com — Surveillance company Flock cuts staff as privacy backlash grows. By Zack Whittaker, published Oct 9, 2026
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