Democratic officials are challenging the Trump administration in court, protesting against its handling of voter registration through government databases. This process involves scanning millions of registrations primarily from Republican-controlled states, questioning their eligibility before the November elections. Critics fear that the initiative, aimed at purging invalid entries, might accidentally remove eligible voters from lists.
The verification system at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has processed at least 67 million registrations, flagging tens of thousands as potential noncitizens or deceased individuals. Some states impose strict timelines, giving citizens only a month to prove their eligibility, while others suspend registration immediately.
This federal-level review is part of a broader plan by Republican President Donald Trump to centralize certain election functions, reiterating his claims about noncitizen voting affecting election integrity, despite limited evidence. Voter and civil rights organizations question the accuracy of the DHS system, worried that it might wrongly target eligible voters.
If a voter is wrongly removed, by the time they learn about it and correct it, they may miss their opportunity to vote in that election.
Freda Levenson from the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio highlighted this concern, as the organization contests an Ohio law requiring monthly checks with the DHS system.
Individuals like Anthony Nel, a South African native turned U.S. citizen over ten years ago, have been affected. His voter registration in Texas was flagged as potentially invalid, resulting in temporary cancellation as he waited for a passport renewal.
The Trump administration aims to reform U.S. elections further, advocating for a federal list of verified voters. This includes pressing states to release unredacted voter data for comprehensive checks through the SAVE program.
The Justice Department has pursued legal action against states that resist, asserting the need for compliance with federal laws and maintaining accurate voter records. Although states have existing protocols to ensure this, SAVE, initially designed to prevent noncitizens from receiving government benefits, has been extensively employed to assess voter rolls.
Since the Trump administration expanded SAVE’s capabilities in April 2025, approximately 60 million registrations have been examined over a year. This figure excludes North Carolina’s additional 7.4 million registrations run through the system.
Citizenship and Immigration Services claims that 24,000 potential noncitizens were identified during these checks. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon noted another discovery of about 350,000 individuals who appeared deceased.
Although these numbers equate to minor percentages compared to the entire voter pool, they have still sparked controversy, especially when eligible voters are incorrectly targeted.
Instances of false positives persist. Domingo Garcia, a 68-year-old lawyer and voting rights advocate in Dallas, had his registration unexpectedly canceled despite his history of regular voting.
This issue prompted six federal lawsuits against either the Trump administration or states utilizing SAVE. Anthony Nel is among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia, contesting the Justice Department’s request for citizens’ confidential voter data.
Luke Nel shared that the process is ineffective, citing his misidentification as a noncitizen through a SAVE check of 18 million Texas registrations.
Republican officials view the SAVE system as an initial measure rather than definitive, advising further examination of flagged registrations. In Kansas, investigations into potentially ineligible voters from state checks are ongoing without public disclosure of outcomes.
Texas and North Carolina have protocols for individuals to contest registration flags. While Ohio enforces monthly registration checks with swift cancellation, there’s room for reinstating via citizenship proof.
Despite the chaos, Secretary of State Frank LaRose in Ohio assured that voters can regain registration status swiftly by proving citizenship.
Shoot first and ask questions later.
This phrase by ACLU lawyer Levenson critiques the system’s methodology.
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