The Supreme Court has authorized the Trump administration to develop a large federal database that will collect citizenship status, Social Security numbers and other personal data for millions of Americans. The new system, intended to help state and federal agencies identify non‑citizen voters, could be used to purge voter rolls.
Voter‑rights advocates warn that the database could lead to the wrongful removal of eligible voters, especially given past errors in the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. A federal judge had previously blocked SAVE on privacy grounds, noting that it often misidentified naturalized citizens as non‑citizens.
The court’s ruling is unlikely to affect the 2026 midterm elections, as the Justices reiterated that the National Voter Registration Act bars major changes to registration rules within 90 days of a federal election. Tim Harper of the Center for Democracy & Technology said the order “changes nothing about what the law requires before the midterms.” David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research echoed that voters can expect the same safe and reliable process.
The decision was joined by a 12‑page dissent from the three liberal justices, who warned that any program that disenfranchises lawful voters outweighs the government’s lack of authority. Critics like Jacqueline De León of the Native American Rights Fund argue that SAVE will have a devastating impact on eligible voters, while Homeland Security’s James Percival celebrated the ruling as a step toward preventing non‑citizen voting.
