Topeka, Kansas — The Trump administration has expanded a federal voter eligibility verification program across at least 25 states, triggering lawsuits and renewed debate over election security and voting rights ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE system, originally designed to verify immigration status for government benefits, has now been used to review more than 67 million voter registrations nationwide. According to federal officials, the checks identified roughly 24,000 potential noncitizens and about 350,000 people believed to be deceased.
Republican officials argue the effort helps states maintain accurate voter rolls and improve public confidence in elections. The Justice Department has also pushed states to provide voter registration data for broader federal verification efforts, suing some states that refused.
Voting rights groups and civil liberties organizations have challenged the program in court, warning the system can incorrectly flag eligible voters. Critics point to cases like Anthony Nel, a naturalized U.S. citizen in Texas whose voter registration was temporarily canceled after being mistakenly identified as a possible noncitizen.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations have filed multiple lawsuits arguing that mass verification programs risk disenfranchising lawful voters, especially if corrections are not made before elections.
Despite Republican claims about widespread voter fraud, documented cases of noncitizen voting in U.S. elections remain statistically rare. Election experts note that even if every flagged registration proved invalid, the totals would represent only a tiny fraction of registered voters nationwide.
The issue is expected to remain central to ongoing national disputes over election administration, voter access, and federal oversight.
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