The U.S. Department of Justice on Sept. 8 asked the Supreme Court to allow the federal government to use an immigration database to verify the citizenship of individuals registered to vote. The request follows a series of court rulings that have blocked the Trump administration from using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system for voter-roll verification.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that the administration’s use of SAVE violated federal privacy laws. On Sept. 4, a divided appeals court upheld that decision, with the majority finding that the government’s use of the database could unlawfully disclose personal information, including Social Security numbers.
In its filing with the Supreme Court, the Justice Department argued that the lower court’s order threatens election integrity by preventing the federal government from using Social Security data internally when responding to state requests to verify voter citizenship. DOJ lawyers also argued that the groups challenging the policy lack legal standing and that the court exceeded its jurisdiction in blocking the program.
The dispute began after the federal government enabled states to conduct bulk queries through SAVE following an order from another federal judge in a separate case. That litigation involved states that had faced difficulties verifying the citizenship status of people listed on their voter rolls. Organizations involved in the current lawsuit, including the League of Women Voters, had not responded to the Justice Department’s latest filing as of publication.
The appeals court’s Sept. 4 decision included a dissent from Judge Gregory Katsas, who said he would have allowed the government to continue using SAVE while the appeal proceeds. Katsas argued that the modified system does not appear to violate federal law governing the disclosure of Social Security information because the data would remain within the Department of Homeland Security, which would provide states only with protected immigration or citizenship status information.
