Supreme Court Upholds Use of Government Data for Voter Registration Checks

The Supreme Court on September 25, 2026, upheld the Trump administration's expanded use of government data to identify noncitizens registered to vote. The justices granted an emergency appeal from Trump administration lawyers, overriding a lower court's ruling that had blocked this data usage due to concerns about its accuracy, particularly for naturalized citizens. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented, highlighting the potential for errors in the data checks. The decision is expected to have limited impact, but it underscores Trump's ongoing skepticism about election integrity and his claims regarding illegal voting. For instance, the administration previously asserted that Nevada had over 15,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls, which state officials later confirmed were citizens. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill noted that a software error had led to over 6,000 individuals being incorrectly registered to vote. The ruling allows states to utilize data from Social Security and other records for voter roll verification, although federal law prohibits mass purges of voter rolls within 90 days of an election. Voting rights advocates expressed concern that the flawed data could lead to legal voters being targeted. The League of Women Voters described the decision as 'profoundly disappointing,' while Common Cause President Virginia Kase Solomón emphasized the legal protections against mass voter removals. Conversely, Florida State law professor Michael T. Morley argued that the ruling could enhance public confidence in election integrity. Several Republican-led states, including Texas and Florida, supported the appeal, with Texas stating that the new database allowed for more efficient verification of its 18 million voters. The court's unsigned opinion asserted that the federal government is obligated to assist state and local election officials in verifying voter citizenship. The Department of Homeland Security reportedly can handle over 1 million verification requests per day. However, states are not mandated to conduct these checks, and the administration clarified that its data reports do not constitute final proof of citizenship. The decision follows a previous ruling where the court blocked Trump's proposed postal rules that could have hindered mail-in voting. The Supreme Court indicated that the law appears to support the administration's use of the data in this instance.