Supreme Court Revives Controversial DHS Voter Verification System
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily reinstated a federal data system, revamped by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which checks the citizenship status of voters on state rolls. This system has raised concerns due to its potential to mistakenly flag eligible voters as noncitizens.
This decision comes amidst efforts by the Trump administration to intensify checks on voter rolls for noncitizens ahead of the upcoming election. The administration has been allocating resources to this initiative, despite pushback from various groups.
States have been submitting their voter lists to the expanded Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, sharing voter data with the federal government. Before being halted by a federal judge in June, SAVE had processed tens of millions of voter records.
Supreme Court’s Decision
The Supreme Court’s ruling allows the administration to resume using SAVE to identify noncitizens on voter rolls and supports its broader project of compiling citizenship lists in each state.
Federal law prohibits systematic voter roll purges within 90 days of a federal election. However, the administration argues that this does not apply to noncitizens improperly registered. The Supreme Court’s majority noted that halting SAVE “inhibits the Federal Government’s efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper administration of the midterm elections.”
The court’s three liberal justices dissented, expressing concerns about the system’s potential harm, especially for recently naturalized citizens who might be wrongly targeted.
Concerns and Legal Challenges
A coalition, including the League of Women Voters and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, continues to challenge SAVE’s overhaul. “Today’s decision is profoundly disappointing,” the coalition stated, emphasizing ongoing litigation and the risk to voters.
SAVE originally verified the immigration status of noncitizens for public benefits eligibility. Last year, DHS linked it with Social Security records, enabling bulk queries and encouraging states to submit full voter rolls for citizenship verification.
U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan previously blocked this version of SAVE, citing violations of the Social Security Act, Privacy Act, and Administrative Procedures Act. “The federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens,” she wrote.
Despite an appeals court’s decision, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer’s appeal claimed SAVE verified over 65 million voters and flagged 28,635 as potential noncitizens. He argued that blocking SAVE hinders detecting ineligible voters, affecting election integrity.
Critics argue Congress has not sanctioned a “master database of U.S. Citizens” and warn of errors in SAVE’s citizenship data. They highlight that the government has not disclosed the error rate or how many citizens have been misclassified.
Errors in SAVE’s Citizenship Verification
As the election approaches, the administration might use SAVE to verify voter citizenship. An executive order from President Trump mandates federal agencies to use SAVE data for state citizenship lists.
Despite the system’s intent, SAVE has flagged eligible citizens erroneously. In Texas, SAVE identified 2,724 potential noncitizens among 18 million voters. Many were later reinstated, but some were removed for not responding in time.
A Texas secretary of state press release reported that 20% of flagged voters were citizens, and 4.2% of cases were referred for investigation of possible noncitizen voting.
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
