Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Verify Voter Citizenship

<p>A Supreme Court decision on September 25, 2026, will permit the Trump administration to collaborate with states to verify voters' citizenship.</p><p>The 6-3 ruling allows state officials to utilize an expanded version of a federal database to confirm that registered voters are citizens. The database, known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, was established in 1986 to check the immigration status of noncitizens applying for public benefit programs and has been employed by states for voter verification since 2005. The Trump administration expanded it to include Social Security records and enable officials to check multiple voters simultaneously.</p><p>Attorney General Todd Blanche expressed approval of the order, stating, “Huge victory for election integrity! The Supreme Court granted [the Justice Department]’s stay in revamping the SAVE citizenship verification database, which will allow states to clear the voter rolls of illegal voters. The modified SAVE system allows state and local officials to conduct citizenship verification of registered voters to keep aliens from voting.” He added, “The Justice Department will continue fighting in court for secure elections. Every American should want this!”</p><p>The impact on the upcoming midterm elections is expected to be limited. With the general election scheduled for November 3, states are already within the 90-day window during which federal law prohibits systematic purges of ineligible voters.</p><p>The Department of Homeland Security expanded the SAVE program in May 2025, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March as part of his initiative for enhanced election safeguards. Several liberal election groups, including the League of Women Voters, challenged the program's expansion. Consequently, a federal district judge in Washington blocked the modified program in June, and the federal appeals court declined to pause the ruling.</p><p>Friday's order pauses the district court's ruling while the case is under appeal. It does not represent a final decision on the legality of the expanded program.</p><p>The court noted in an unsigned opinion, “All agree that the order prevents the Federal Government from using the modified SAVE program to conduct individualized inquiries, which are permitted under federal law during this period. The District Court’s order thus inhibits the Federal Government’s efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper administration of the midterm elections.”</p><p>The Supreme Court's decision was made by the court's six conservative justices. Liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented, arguing that expanding the SAVE program would be detrimental to the American public.</p><p>Jason Snead, the executive director of the conservative group Honest Elections Project, commended the Supreme Court’s order, stating, “The Supreme Court got it right. Once again, left-wing interests are doing everything they can to block states from verifying citizenship on the eve of a federal election, and for the second time in a week they have lost in court. This is a major win for election integrity.”</p>