A federal judge has ruled that a project by the Trump administration, aimed at using American personal data to verify voter eligibility, is unlawful. The ruling prevents the use of the tool, known as SAVE, in its current format. Some states have already processed their entire voter lists through the SAVE system, which the Trump administration modified last year. The tool was designed to identify potential noncitizens and deceased voters, but it mistakenly flagged numerous foreign-born American citizens as noncitizens.
Judge’s Ruling
U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan criticized the federal government for infringing upon the privacy rights of American citizens. She asserted that the maintenance of the sacred right to vote was being threatened and deemed such actions unacceptable in her extensive ruling.
Expansion of SAVE
The system, originally managed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was previously used to verify eligibility for government benefits on an individual basis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revamped the tool, allowing bulk checks and integrating Social Security data. Judge Sooknanan highlighted that these changes haphazardly misused private information that was often unreliable. As a result, she ordered the discontinuation of the updated SAVE.
Trump Administration’s Agenda
The first executive order from March 2025 facilitated the use of a verification tool to confirm citizenship status, though courts partially blocked the order. Yet, the SAVE system underwent updates, affecting over 60 million voter records, flagging less than 1% as potential noncitizens. Despite the rarity of noncitizen voting, the administration persisted in efforts to restrict it.
Court’s Impact
Sooknanan’s ruling determined that federal agencies overstepped their authority. The changes they made violated several acts, rendering expanded SAVE unlawful. The lawsuit from the League of Women Voters and others voiced concerns that such a federal voter database could lead to unjust voter purges, undermining democratic rights.
Despite being notified of public disapproval following retroactive changes, federal agencies did not alter their course. Critics like Nikhel Sus from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington emphasized the importance of adhering to public sentiment and law, affirming the court’s alignment with public opinion against the SAVE overhaul.
Case Highlight
Anthony Nel, a naturalized U.S. citizen from South Africa, experienced the implications of the SAVE tool firsthand. Mistakenly flagged as a potential noncitizen, Nel lost his Texas voter registration when he failed to respond promptly to a citizenship verification request.