Supreme Court Allows Federal Voter Database Use Ahead of Midterms
Supreme Court lifts restrictions on DHS voter eligibility database SAVE, allowing states to use it for now despite privacy concerns and wrongful flagging.
The Supreme Court on Friday lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter eligibility database, handing President Donald Trump a temporary victory in his push against noncitizen voting. The court's three liberal-leaning justices publicly dissented.
The emergency order permits states to use the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program while litigation continues. However, existing law bars most states from systematically purging voter rolls within 90 days of an election, so the immediate effect on the upcoming midterms is expected to be limited. Use of the program remains voluntary for states.
The order pauses a June ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, who had blocked the revamped SAVE program, finding it violated Americans' privacy rights and could lead to eligible voters being wrongly removed. A federal appeals court declined to pause that ruling, prompting the administration's appeal to the Supreme Court.
SAVE was created under an immigration law requiring DHS to help federal, state, and local agencies prevent government benefits from going to noncitizens. The Trump administration moved last year to significantly expand its search capabilities. Since then, at least 67 million registrations have been scanned, but critics worry the tool could purge valid voters.
Some registrants have already been wrongly flagged. In Travis County, Texas, officials investigated 97 voters flagged by SAVE as apparent noncitizens and found that at least 10% — and possibly up to 21% — were U.S. citizens. The county urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal, while Texas submitted a brief defending the database.
Even while the program was blocked, the administration said in court filings that DHS officials continued using Social Security Administration data "in certain cases to verify information and help determine whether illegal voting may have occurred." In August, DHS launched its own investigation into noncitizen voters on state rolls, according to a federal whistleblower statement that described the effort as rushed, error-prone, and potentially violating state laws. DHS has defended the investigation as conducted "diligently and professionally."
The push for a national voter list is among several steps Trump has taken in his second term to overhaul election administration. Most have been blocked by courts, partly because the Constitution assigns election rule-making authority to states and Congress, not the president. In mid-September, the Supreme Court rejected a bid by Trump to restrict mail ballot procedures before the midterms.
Research shows noncitizen voting, already illegal and potentially a felony leading to deportation, is exceptionally rare. Trump has nonetheless remained focused on the claim that large numbers of noncitizens vote in U.S. elections.