The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that the Trump administration can use the expanded SAVE database for citizenship checks before November’s midterms. Litigation continues; federal rules bar systematic purges within 90 days of an election but allow individual checks.
SAVE, long used by states to verify citizenship through federal records, was expanded to include Social Security data and bulk searches. Election officials and the Brennan Center for Justice warn that outdated records can flag citizens as noncitizens. Those at higher risk include naturalized citizens whose status records were not updated, older voters with Social Security numbers issued before 1978, and people who changed their names. Anyone flagged must provide state officials proof of citizenship to avoid removal from voter rolls. Twenty-six states used the expanded database before it was blocked in court, with reports of errors.
The ruling permits SAVE’s use for voting while litigation over the expansion’s legality proceeds; its use after November remains unclear. In dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, said the short-term impact was likely minimal but argued that the risk of disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighed any harm to the government. The Brennan Center warns inaccurate flags could be used to challenge election results. Opponents also raised privacy concerns; court filings indicate plans to add passport and driver’s-license numbers to the system.
