A federal judge has stopped the Trump administration’s plan to create a database containing personal data from millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, appointed by President Joe Biden, emphasized in her ruling that the administration violated Americans’ privacy rights, posing a risk to their right to vote. ‘This Court cannot stand idly by,’ she stated.

Marcia Johnson, chief of activation and justice for the League of Women Voters, praised the decision. ‘Efforts to create a federal voter database threaten the fundamental right at the heart of our democracy,’ she said. The League of Women Voters, alongside the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), filed the lawsuit against the federal government.

The suit challenged attempts by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) to turn the DHS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system into a national citizenship database. Activists claimed the Social Security data used was unreliable, leading to voter purges and investigations into lawful voters.

EPIC’s John Davisson stated, ‘Today’s decision halts the illegal consolidation of sensitive data, preserving not only privacy rights but also the right to vote.’

Understanding the SAVE Database

The SAVE program, managed by DHS, initially helped agencies verify immigration status for public benefits applicants. An executive order expanded this database into an interagency tool, linking DHS records with SSA data, allowing:

• Searches using Social Security numbers
• Aggregation of extensive personal information
• Use as a tool for state officials to verify voter eligibility and purge rolls

About District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan

Judge Sparkle Sooknanan serves at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Appointed in 2025, she became the first woman from Trinidad and Tobago on this court. Her nomination drew widespread support from various legal circles.

Details of the Judge’s Rulings

Judge Sooknanan issued a 75-page decision, siding with the plaintiffs and granting an injunction against the bulk data-pooling system. She ruled the administration made secret changes, violating statutory requirements. The court found failures to provide public notice, comment opportunities, or privacy risk assessments, breaching the Administrative Procedure Act and the Privacy Act of 1974.

Impact on Future Elections

The injunction comes as the political landscape is set for the 2026 midterm elections on November 3. With the control of Congress at stake, the ruling removes a mechanism that could have been used for voter roll maintenance leading up to the elections.

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