On Friday, 25 September 2026, the US Supreme Court restored the operation of an expanded federal database for verifying voters' citizenship. The decision allows President Donald Trump's administration to continue using the modified SAVE system.
The Court stayed a ruling by a federal judge in Washington who had blocked the changes in June. The justices found that the injunction prevents the federal government from helping states conduct elections. A majority of 6–3 voted in favor of the Justice Department's request.
The SAVE system, managed by the Department of Homeland Security, was overhauled: it now includes data on US citizens by birth, allows mass queries, and uses Social Security numbers. Previously, the database was intended mainly for checking immigrants.
The Trump administration claims that the database helps combat voting by noncitizens. Critics fear that inaccurate data could lead to lawful voters being mistakenly removed from the rolls.
Three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented. In a dissenting opinion, Jackson called the decision a "dubious interim ruling" on previously uninterpreted laws.
The changes to SAVE are tied to Trump's executive order issued in March. States may voluntarily use the system for individual checks, but federal law limits mass purges of voter rolls within 90 days before an election.
The congressional elections are scheduled for 3 November 2026. Whether the decision's impact will remain noticeable in the remaining weeks remains to be seen.
The Supreme Court's decision was a temporary victory for Trump's efforts to strengthen the federal role in verifying voter rolls. The case continues to be heard on appeal.
