Judge blocks Trump's voter verification expansion over threat to eligible American voters

WASHINGTON, DC: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from using an expanded federal citizenship verification system to help states identify noncitizens on voter rolls, ruling that the revamped database could mistakenly flag eligible American citizens and lead to wrongful voter removals.

The ruling by US District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, marks a setback for President Donald Trump's election security efforts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Judge cites privacy concerns and wrongful voter removals in ruling

The Trump administration expanded the SAVE database earlier this year to allow state and local election officials to more easily verify whether registered voters are US citizens. Administration officials argued the system would help prevent noncitizens from remaining on voter rolls.

On Monday, Sooknanan issued an order preventing the Trump administration from using a streamlined version of the federal government's SAVE program for voter-roll verification while the lawsuit moves forward.

The update to SAVE allowed states to more quickly verify voter eligibility by no longer requiring all nine digits of a voter registrant's Social Security Number to be entered into the system.

"This case implicates two fundamental rights that protect Americans from government overreach: the right to privacy and the right to vote," Sooknanan, an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, wrote.

In her ruling, Sooknanan said the updated system could result in eligible Americans being wrongly identified as noncitizens because immigration records are not always complete or immediately updated, particularly for naturalized citizens whose citizenship status may not yet be accurately reflected in federal databases.

She concluded that relying on such information could lead election officials to incorrectly remove lawful voters from registration lists.

"In the past year, several federal agencies have joined forces to create a centralized federal database that contains the private information of United States citizens, including Social Security numbers, citizenship status, and other sensitive data."

"All in all, the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.”

Trump administration defends expanded SAVE voter verification system

A US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson previously told Breitbart News that the updated SAVE program was necessary to ensure "America's elections are reserved exclusively for American citizens."

The Department of Homeland Security criticized the ruling, saying the expanded SAVE system was intended to help states maintain accurate voter rolls and prevent noncitizens from voting.

The administration has repeatedly argued that voters gave Trump a mandate to strengthen election security and improve verification of voter eligibility.

Officials maintain that only US citizens should be allowed to vote in federal elections and have defended the database overhaul as part of that effort.

For now, the injunction prevents the administration from using the expanded SAVE database for voter-roll verification while the lawsuit proceeds.