NEW YORK – The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to lift restrictions on a contentious federal voter database marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over noncitizen voting in the United States. This ruling grants President Donald Trump a temporary victory in his longstanding efforts to combat alleged noncitizen voting ahead of the upcoming elections.
The court’s decision was not unanimous; the three liberal-leaning justices expressed their dissent publicly, highlighting the ideological divide surrounding this issue.
The emergency order allows states to utilize the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, designed to assist in verifying the eligibility of voters on their rolls. However, it is crucial to note that existing laws prevent states from systematically purging voters from their rolls within 90 days of an election, which may limit the immediate impact of this ruling on the forthcoming midterms.
Participation in the SAVE program is voluntary for states, which adds another layer of complexity to its implementation.
This ruling effectively puts on hold a prior decision by U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, who had deemed the Trump administration’s revised version of SAVE illegal. Judge Sooknanan argued that its implementation violated Americans’ privacy rights and could lead to the wrongful removal of eligible voters from the rolls.
Following Sooknanan’s ruling, a federal appeals court declined to pause it, prompting the Trump administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The SAVE program itself was established under an immigration law aimed at preventing noncitizens from receiving government benefits. The Trump administration significantly expanded its capabilities last year, leading to the scanning of at least 67 million voter registrations through this program. Critics of SAVE have raised alarms about the potential for legitimate voters to be purged from voter rolls erroneously.
For instance, in Travis County, Texas, officials investigated 97 voters flagged by SAVE as potential noncitizens and discovered that approximately 10% to 21% of these individuals were, in fact, U.S. citizens. This alarming statistic underscores the risks associated with using SAVE as a verification tool. While the county opposed the administration’s appeal, Texas itself submitted a brief in defense of the database’s use.
Despite the restrictions placed on the SAVE program, the Trump administration informed the court that DHS officials have continued to use Social Security Administration data to verify voter information in certain cases, raising further concerns about the integrity of the voter verification process.
Additionally, in August, the Department of Homeland Security launched its own investigation into noncitizen voters on state rolls. However, a whistleblower report indicated that this effort was rushed, rife with errors, and could potentially violate state laws. DHS, for its part, defended the investigation as being conducted “diligently and professionally.”
The push to create a national voter list is just one of many initiatives Trump has undertaken during his second term to reshape election procedures. Many of these efforts have faced legal challenges, partly due to the Constitution’s delegation of election rule-setting authority to states and Congress, excluding the president. Notably, in mid-September, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to impose restrictions on mail ballot procedures ahead of the midterms.
While research consistently shows that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare and subject to severe penalties, including potential felony charges and deportation, Trump has maintained his focus on the belief that there is widespread illegal voting by noncitizens in U.S. elections. This ongoing narrative continues to influence voter verification policies across the country.
