Judge blocks Trump's voter roll database, citing privacy violations and flawed data

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from allowing states to use a revamped immigration database to screen voter rolls, ruling that the system violated privacy laws and risked disenfranchising eligible voters. The 75-page decision by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, D.C., halts the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database for election purposes, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to expand federal control over elections ahead of the November midterms.

The SAVE database overhaul

The SAVE system was originally designed to verify immigration and citizenship status for government benefits. Under Trump's direction, the Department of Homeland Security expanded it by incorporating Social Security Administration records, creating a centralized repository of personal data including Social Security numbers and citizenship status. The administration then made this combined dataset available to states to check their voter rolls for potential non-citizens.

Judge Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, found that the repurposing of the database violated at least three laws, including privacy protections Congress intended to guard personal data. She wrote that agencies rushed to "haphazardly" adopt a system they knew was flawed and would incorrectly flag eligible voters alongside those who might have registered illegally.

“The federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote. This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens.”

Voters already affected

Evidence presented in the case showed that some states were already using the database to review voter registrations. According to the ruling, eligible U.S. citizens had been wrongly classified as non-citizens and, in some cases, removed from voter rolls. Naturalized citizens were particularly at risk because their records in federal systems may be incomplete or outdated.

Internal DHS communications acknowledged that the infrastructure violated federal privacy law and could produce inaccurate results, the judge noted.

Broader election integrity push

The ruling is the latest setback for Trump's campaign to tighten election rules. Three federal judges had previously blocked his 2025 executive order requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and restricting the counting of mail ballots. A March 2026 executive order limiting mail-in voting has also drawn legal challenges, and federal courts have rejected nine lawsuits the administration brought against states for refusing to hand over their complete voter rolls.

Separately, the administration is signaling it may withhold homeland security funding from states that do not adopt election reforms, including cross-checking voter rolls with the SAVE database. Under revised grant guidelines, states risk losing 20 percent of certain DHS grants, which are expected to exceed $1 billion this year.

Reactions

The Homeland Security Department criticized the ruling. Chief Legal Officer James Percival wrote on social media that it was "amazing how hard 'the left' fights to prevent the government from solving problems whose existence they simultaneously deny." Voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters, had brought the lawsuit, arguing the database would lead to eligible voters being wrongly purged.

The midterm elections are set for November 3, with Republicans defending slim majorities in both chambers of Congress.