The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to revive a federal system that allows states to check voter citizenship information after lower courts blocked its expanded use over concerns about inaccurate data and federal privacy law.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to restore a federal citizenship-verification system that states have used to check voter rolls, bringing another election-related dispute before the justices less than two months before the November midterm elections.
Justice Department attorneys asked the high court to suspend a federal judge’s June ruling that blocked the administration’s expanded use of immigration and Social Security data for large-scale voter citizenship checks. A federal appeals court subsequently declined to lift that restriction.
“The district court has issued an indefensible order that threatens the integrity of upcoming elections by vacating the federal government’s authority to internally use Social Security data when fulfilling its duty to respond to requests by states to verify the citizenship of individuals for voting and other purposes,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in Tuesday’s filing.
At issue is the administration’s revised Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database, known as SAVE. The Department of Homeland Security expanded the system to permit bulk citizenship searches and incorporated access to Social Security information, allowing states to submit large numbers of voter records for verification.
The administration argues that the federal government should be permitted to use the information internally when responding to states seeking to determine whether people on their voter rolls are U.S. citizens.
The legal challenge centers on whether the government can use Social Security data in that manner and whether the expanded database is sufficiently reliable for voter-registration reviews.
A Washington-based federal judge blocked the mass-verification system in June, concluding that it had been assembled without adequate safeguards and relied on citizenship information that could be inaccurate.
The ruling raised concerns that eligible voters, including naturalized citizens, could potentially be flagged incorrectly and forced to provide additional proof of citizenship before remaining registered.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit left the restriction in place last week, ruling 2-1 against the administration’s request to suspend the lower court decision while litigation continues. The majority also concluded that the disputed use of Social Security information conflicted with federal law protecting that data.
The Justice Department is now asking the Supreme Court to intervene on an emergency basis and permit the system to operate while the underlying court fight proceeds.
The case places two competing arguments before the justices: the administration maintains that federal agencies need access to existing government information to help states verify voter eligibility, while challengers contend that unreliable or improperly used data could result in lawful voters being incorrectly targeted for removal.
The Supreme Court request is part of a broader series of legal disputes over federal involvement in election administration ahead of the November midterms.
The administration has separately taken a dispute involving mail-in ballot procedures to the high court, seeking authority to implement new Postal Service requirements affecting how states process and mail ballots.
In the voter-roll case, however, the immediate question is whether the federal government may resume using its expanded citizenship database while appeals over the system’s legality continue.
The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Tuesday’s request.
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