Supreme Court allows Trump administration to use expanded voter citizenship database

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to resume using an expanded federal citizenship database to help state and local officials review voter registrations while litigation continues.

In a 6-3 emergency decision, the court paused a June order by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan that had blocked use of the modified Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, system. Sooknanan found that the administration had violated federal privacy laws, including through the disclosure of Social Security information.

The administration’s 2025 changes expanded SAVE to include records of natural-born citizens, access Social Security records and permit bulk searches. The Supreme Court said the government has an obligation under immigration law to respond to requests from state and local election officials seeking to verify voters’ citizenship. It said the lower court’s order impeded federal assistance with election administration and that the challengers’ legal claims likely lacked merit.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. Jackson wrote that the majority disregarded risks to lawful voters, including burdens or disenfranchisement resulting from inaccurate information, while overstating harm to the government.

The League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and other groups challenged the expanded system. Federal law separately prohibits systematic removals from voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election, although individualized inquiries remain permitted. The case will continue in the lower courts.