https://www.npr.org/2026/09/25/nx-s1-5976804/supreme-court-trump-save-noncitizen-votingThe U.S. Supreme Court has for now revived a federal data system the Department of Homeland Security revamped into a tool to check the citizenship of millions of Americans on state voter rolls. The tool has mistakenly flagged some eligible voters as potential noncitizens.The news comes as the Trump administration has been pouring resources into searching for noncitizens on voter rolls ahead of the upcoming election.Many states uploaded their voter lists to the expanded version of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements data system — known as SAVE — sharing that voter information with the federal government. Tens of millions of voter records were run through SAVE before it was blocked by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., in June.The Supreme Court's decision clears the way for the administration to again use the revamped SAVE in its hunt for noncitizens on voter rolls, as well as in its unprecedented project of compiling lists of adult citizens in each state.Any impact on the midterm elections is unclear. Federal law bans states from "systematically" removing voters from rolls within 90 days of a federal election.The Trump administration and Republican state officials have made the case that the statute should not apply to removing noncitizens who were improperly registered. And the federal government argued to the Supreme Court that at a minimum, the updated SAVE should be able to be used for individual removal decisions ahead of an election.
In siding with the Trump administration, the court's majority wrote that the lower court order that halted the expanded SAVE prevents the federal government "from using the modified SAVE program to conduct individualized inquiries, which are permitted under federal law during this [90-day] period. The District Court's order thus inhibits the Federal Government's efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper administration of the midterm elections."The Supreme Court's three liberal justices dissented from the ruling, and would have denied the Trump administration's stay application.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the dissent, writing about the "majority's omission of any consideration of the harms that might occur if the modified SAVE system is allowed to continue operating. The District Court highlighted such harms, noting the risk that States might cancel the voter registrations of at least some recently naturalized citizens or force such persons to provide proof of citizenship before voting."The coalition of organizations that challenged the SAVE overhaul last year, which includes the League of Women Voters and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, put out a statement on Friday that said litigation in the case is ongoing."Today's decision is profoundly disappointing, as it puts millions of Americans at risk of being unlawfully targeted by the administration's unreliable voter purge database weeks before the midterm elections," the statement reads. "However, this case is not over. The D.C. district court ruled that the expanded SAVE program violated multiple laws. We will be doing everything in our power to protect Americans' voting and privacy rights by ensuring that the district court decision stands."
>How the Trump administration overhauled SAVESAVE is a 40-year-old federal data system that was created to check the immigration status of noncitizens to determine their eligibility for public benefits.Then, DHS overhauled SAVE last year by linking it for the first time with Social Security Administration records, which include most Americans. The overhaul also allowed bulk queries to SAVE, and DHS encouraged states to upload their entire voter rolls to SAVE to verify those registered are U.S. citizens and not listed as deceased in federal records.In June, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, blocked use of the modified version of SAVE, finding that its aggregation and disclosure of sensitive data violated the Social Security Act, the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act."The federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote," she wrote.After an appeals court panel refused to stay the lower court's decision in a 2-1 vote, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer appealed to the Supreme Court earlier this month.In his appeal, Sauer wrote that since May 2025, the updated version of SAVE has verified more than 65 million voters across 26 states, and has flagged 28,635 as potential noncitizens."The district court's order, however, makes it harder to detect ineligible voters, undermining the integrity of federal elections and public confidence in the results of those elections," he wrote.
The League of Women Voters and the Electronic Privacy Information Center — which are represented in the case by Democracy Forward, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the Fair Elections Center — argued in a brief to the Supreme Court that Congress has not authorized the federal government to create a "master database of U.S. Citizens," nor does it have data that could do that accurately. The brief added that multiple statutes restrict repurposing and sharing Americans' sensitive data."Disregarding these laws, the government has recklessly created an error-laden master citizenship database that endangers millions of Americans' privacy and voting rights," the groups wrote.They wrote that even though 65 million voters had been verified by the revamped SAVE, the government had not yet released the system's error rate, or how many Americans' citizenship was misrepresented "and who consequently have been forced to reverify their citizenship to retain their voter registration or obtain government benefits."A key part of the legal dispute has rested on whether the modified SAVE violated federal privacy laws.But the Supreme Court majority on Friday sided with an argument the federal government had made, that a provision from the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act authorizes DHS to disclose citizenship information — including Social Security information — to states.The three liberal justices who dissented disagreed with the majority's analysis on this point, saying that the provision does not override limits in federal law on how Social Security information can be shared. Jackson noted in her dissent that in the three decades since the 1996 law was enacted, "the government has never invoked [the provision] in that way—even as it has repeatedly refined the SAVE program."
>SAVE has mistakenly flagged eligible citizensEven though Election Day is just over a month away and voting is underway, the Trump administration could try to make use of the expanded version of SAVE right away in its quest to check registered voters' citizenship.An executive order President Trump signed in March calls for federal agencies to consult SAVE data, along with other federal records, to create state-by-state lists of adult U.S. citizens. The same order directs the U.S. attorney general to prioritize investigating and prosecuting election officials who provide ballots to ineligible voters. Even though the executive order says such state lists are to be completed 60 days before an election and that deadline has already passed, federal officials have indicated the project is still underway — although it is facing a legal challenge.On Friday afternoon, the federal judge in Maryland who is overseeing that case grilled the federal government over whether it was still planning to release state citizenship lists before the election, but Department of Justice attorney Joshua Schopf said he could not say. The judge told the government it must give the court 30 days' notice if it plans to launch a portal that would publish the citizenship lists.Eligible voters have been erroneously flagged by SAVE, which has been unable to confirm the citizenship of certain categories of foreign-born people who become U.S. citizens.After Texas ran its entire voter list of 18 million voters through SAVE, the system flagged 2,724 voters as potential noncitizens. County election officials then gave those individuals 30 days to prove their citizenship and, following state law, removed anyone who did not respond in time.As NPR first reported in December, that effort resulted in citizens being removed from the rolls. Anthony Nel, whose story NPR highlighted in that reporting, gave a declaration in this lawsuit.
A recent press release from the Texas secretary of state revealed that of the 2,724 voters that were initially flagged by SAVE as potential noncitizens, some 20% were later found to be citizens who were reinstated. The same release said the office referred 117 cases identified by SAVE, or 4.2% of those flagged, for investigation for possible noncitizen voting.
>>15392414.2% possible fake votes is a lot for american elections where the margins are so thin and often people win by a 1-3% lead. This is huge and we are securing our elections before November. Congratulations President Trump, no one else cared to do it until you came along.
>>1539253Not true. Does happen. If it dies it's rare. Never affected an election. Costs too much to audit. All audits done are fake. Can't have the data. Got the data? Go to prison. Hitler big lie. Mail in votes sent out to everyone are super secure.It's not even happening. Don't talk about it. Are you even serious? Safe and secure *in 2020. Not safe and secure in 2016 when Russia... Not safe and secure in 2024, something Elon Musk, something Starlink.Most votes ever 3 times in row. Unpopular.
>>1539236>The three liberal justiceslol imagine these DEI hires being considered "liberal" by taking a conservative position.
>>1539236Of course it did. Gotta cheat to win.
>>1539260ESL shill is fine that Texas Republicans are so incompetent that 5% of their voting rolls are noncitizensIf noncitizens voting is causing unfair elections, and the GOP has ruled Texas unilaterally for 30 years letting noncitizens vote, then its pretty clear that the GOP is admitting to cheating at elections.
>>1539236Welp if you weren't so pro-illegal immigration and sanctuary cities we wouldn't need to take these measures.
>>1539301But its the anti-immigration and anti-sanctuary cities crowd having this problem. You're just programed to defend billionaire pedophiles and protect their corrupt plan by ignoring the actual data and fixating on your made up distractions.
Reminder: Trump used a mail-in ballot to vote in an election for the mayor of the part of Florida which includes Mar-a-Lago.
>>1539307Reminder: you're a turbo faggot that rapes kids. Also you don't know the difference between absentee ballots and mail-in ballot.It's amazing how the majority of liggeral discourse is pretending like they don't know anything.
esl shill is having another temper tantrum
TRUMPGOD will win no matter what Seethe and dilate demotrash
>>1539313>difference between absentee ballots and mail-in ballot.Whats the relevant difference?
>>1539307Trump votes in Florida, NY and DC. He can do that because he is above the law.
>>1539333Absentee ballets are verified belonging to a citizen, mail in ballots are not. The problem has never been with mail in voting, it's the fact that ligs refuse to secure the election and scam the American people by allowing millions of illegals to vote.
>>1539338you've already proven you're an esl shill, you don't have to keep embarrassing yourself like this
>>1539339You are transgender.
>>1539338>Absentee ballets are verified belonging to a citizen, mail in ballots are not.Source?
>>1539348its what they've been programmed to believe
>>1539348NTAAbsentee ballots require you to go into an election office and verify your identity in person. They're ordinarily used for people in the military away from the US.Mail in ballots are preemptively mailed to every registered person.States like California automatically register you if you have a driver's license.
>>1539338No they don’t.
>>1539350Getting a driver's license requires going in-person in California. Last time I even renewed mine I had to dig up my birth certificate for it.
>>1539358Yeah, but the problem is that illegals can get driver's licenses too.
>>1539360Yeah, but it's against state law for the state to register somebody with an AB 60 license.
>>1539340>projection
>>1539361You think illegal immigrants are afraid of doing illegal things? They have already proven that they are willing to do whatever it takes to make their lives better by entering the US illegally.
>>1539364What kind of guard is doing things in-person in general if the state institutions can't verify anything by it? If it's on the honor principle as you say.
>>1539364many illegal immigrants entered the usa legally.
>>1539364Yes, retard, because if they get caught for some minor crime they could get outed as an illegal immigrant and get fucking deported.
>>1539364>You think illegal immigrants are afraid of doing illegal things?Unironically yes because if they get caught they don't get a fine or go to prison, they get fucking deported. It's literally a documented fact illegals have a lower rate of crime than the general population because they have to lay low.
>>1539364don't most illegal immigrants enter legally and then overstay their visas?
>>1539364good bait and the retards fall for it
>>1539378It wasn't bait anon.There's a keen difference between being afraid of breaking the law, and being afraid of getting caught breaking the law. There have been countless illegals living in the United States, many for literal decades, with little to no moral qualms about doing so. It only becomes an issue for them once they are set to be deported.
>>1539380you're literally not american
>>1539368They are set to get deported no matter what they do because they don't belong here. They have already broken the law by unlawfully entering and continue breaking the law so long as they remain.
>>1539380>There's a keen difference between being afraid of breaking the law, and being afraid of getting caught breaking the law. People are afraid of breaking the law because they're afraid of getting caught you dumb fuck. That's the entire point.
>>1539384Keep acting like jumping the border is in any way equivalent to a actual violent crime.
>>1539384And getting caught for some minor crime will get them deported that much faster, you stupid bitch. See >>1539369
>>1539385>they're afraid of getting caughtBzzzt, wrong.America has an individualistic guilt culture that relies on internal conscience and shame. Whether that involves stealing a candy bar or getting into a domestic dispute, the shame associated with the crime is more of a deterrent than the actual punishment itself.Illegals don't have any shame in regards to breaking the law. They do it because they want to do it, and they only show remorse once caught, otherwise they would be willingly turning themselves over to the authorities to be deported.
>>1539386A willingness to do crime indicates a willingness to commit more crimes. Antisocial behavior doesn't happen apropos of nothing.Don't pretend like you care about crime, though. That's not true at all, otherwise you wouldn't be defending illegal immigrants.
>>1539388too bad that drone hasn't hit your shill farm yet
>>1539390Too bad you'll never be a woman.
>>1539388>>1539389Good god, you just have absolutely no idea how people work.
>>1539391thank you for confirming that you are a shill
>>1539388>Whether that involves stealing a candy bar or getting into a domestic dispute, the shame associated with the crime is more of a deterrent than the actual punishment itself.The president is a convicted felon with a known and well documented history of refusing to pay people for their work and close connections to the most infamous pedophile in US history.
>>1539394So are most Democrats.
>>1539394he also likes to rape
>>1539397>So are most Democrats.prove it
>>1539394Joe and Hunter Briben are confirmed pedophiles with a well documented history of trafficking and gang fucking little Ukrainian children.
esl hours boys
>>1539401i googled this and you made it up
>>1539376It's about 40-45%. So not most, but a lot.
>>1539394>whattabout Trump!lolSometimes you need a psychopath in office to make the hard choices.
>>1539525I appreciate the admission that Trump is a psychopath. Honesty's the best policy.
>>1539401Hunter Biden runs a charity for abused and trafficked children, and Joe Biden increased the penalty for possession of drawn CSAM material.Trump, meanwhile, pardons pedos left and right in a pay-to-play scheme.
>>1539535>Hunter Biden runs a charity for abusing and trafficking childrenFIFY
>>1539401>Joe and Hunter Briben are confirmed pedophiles with a well documented history of trafficking and gang fucking little Ukrainian children.There are actual pictures in the Epstein files of Trump with young topless girls and a stain on the front of his pants.
>>1539543What is your source?
>>1539543esl shill is a pedophile, you're not going to convince them of anything
>>1539544There is no source, just liggerals lying like they always do. They love defending pedophiles and will do anything and say anything in order to ensure Joe Briben can keep raping kids.
>>1539552everyone knows when you talk to yourself like this esl shill
