The Supreme Court has temporarily let states and local authorities use the Homeland Security Department’s expanded SAVE database to verify voters’ citizenship, pausing a lower-court block until an appeals court rules; the effect on the Nov. 3 midterms is unclear.
The SAVE database has existed for decades. In March last year, Trump expanded the department’s powers to include Social Security Administration data. Organizations challenging the new verification procedure argued it violated data-protection laws; critics say the database is inaccurate and has wrongly identified US citizens as ineligible to vote.
Federal law bars systematic changes to voter rolls in the 90 days before an election, but the Supreme Court said individual changes are permitted. Critics describe Trump’s campaign against alleged electoral fraud as unfounded and say it is an attempt to deter people from voting.
