Judge blocks use of federal database to check citizenship, saying it could wrongly purge voters
Summary
A federal judge ruled that a new version of a government database called SAVE, used to check voters' citizenship, is illegal and must stop being used. The judge said the program risks wrongly removing eligible voters by collecting too much personal information and breaking privacy laws.Key Facts
- The SAVE program verifies citizenship to prevent noncitizens from receiving government benefits and checking voter rolls.
- The Trump administration expanded SAVE’s ability to scan voter registrations starting in April 2025.
- At least 25 states have used SAVE for voter roll checks, affecting about 67 million registrations.
- Advocacy groups sued, saying SAVE violated privacy rights and could wrongly purge voters.
- U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan ruled the program violates laws against centralizing personal data.
- The ruling halts the federal use of SAVE for voter verification and challenges President Donald Trump’s election integrity efforts.
- The Department of Homeland Security criticized the ruling, but the Department of Justice has not commented.
- The revamped SAVE system was part of an executive order on improving election security signed by President Donald Trump.
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