A federal judge has declared a Trump administration initiative to compile Americans’ personal data for voter eligibility checks unlawful. This data tool cannot continue in its current form. Several states had already run entire voter lists through the system, known as SAVE, which the Trump administration overhauled last year. Originally designed to flag noncitizens and deceased voters, the system erroneously marked many foreign-born American citizens as potential noncitizens. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan stated that the federal government has infringed on citizens’ privacy rights, putting the right to vote at risk.
NPR first reported on the government’s expansion of SAVE to verify the citizenship of all Americans, noting that the government bypassed required protocols under the Privacy Act.
SAVE’s Overhaul
Administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, SAVE previously assisted state and federal agencies in determining the eligibility of foreign-born individuals for certain government benefits. These checks were performed individually. Last year, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), bulk checks on SAVE became possible. This expansion included Social Security Administration data and the records of American-born citizens, despite known inaccuracies in citizenship data.
Sooknanan’s ruling stated that federal agencies carelessly combined and reused private information of millions, making the overhauled tool unusable. The Trump administration integrated SAVE checks into its voting agenda, exemplified by an executive order mandating DHS to use SAVE for voter eligibility lists. While legal challenges aim to stop this order, parts have already been halted in court.
Millions of Voter Records Affected
Matthew Tragesser, a former USCIS spokesperson, revealed that over 60 million voter records had been processed through the updated SAVE system. Of these, 21,000 (or less than 1%) were flagged as potential noncitizens. Despite federal laws against noncitizen voting, Trump emphasized restricting it, though research shows such incidents are rare.
The White House referred inquiries to DHS, whose general counsel, James Percival, criticized the ruling in a social media post, erroneously spelling the judge’s name. DHS may appeal the decision.
Sooknanan found the SAVE overhaul violated the Privacy, Social Security, and Administrative Procedure Acts, stating federal agencies lacked the authority for such changes. Marcia Johnson from the League of Women Voters called the decision a victory for voters, emphasizing the dangers of a federal voter database aimed at purging voter rolls.
Though plaintiffs challenged the SAVE overhaul last year, and negative public comments followed, federal agencies did not revise their plans. Nikhel Sus, a lawyer with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, emphasized the court’s alignment with public opinion against the unlawful system.
In December, NPR reported on Anthony Nel, a South Africa-born U.S. citizen, who was wrongly flagged as a potential noncitizen by Texas after using SAVE. Nel was removed from voter rolls after failing to respond to a request to prove his citizenship, later joining the lawsuit as a declarant. USCIS acknowledges errors in SAVE regarding some foreign-born citizens.
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