Appeals court rejects Trump administration effort to reinstate SAVE voter purge database
A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court ruling blocking its illegal expansion of the Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements (SAVE) database, and the government may not use the unreliable system for mass voter purges ahead of the midterm elections.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit comes in League of Women Voters v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a case brought by the League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Virginia, League of Women Voters of Louisiana, League of Women Voters of Texas, and Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). The coalition is represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Democracy Forward Foundation and Fair Elections Center.
The court of appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling that the modified SAVE system illegally discloses millions of Americans’ sensitive personal information in violation of the Social Security Act, and highlighted evidence of the “adverse consequences to citizens from using inaccurate SSA citizenship information in modified SAVE, including the risk—already borne out in Texas—that citizens may be required to prove citizenship to remain registered and, in some cases, may have their [voter] registrations cancelled.”
As the court wrote: “The public interest does not favor interim restoration of a system the government has not made a strong showing it may lawfully operate.”
The decision follows the D.C. District Court’s July 8 decision rejecting the government’s request for a stay pending appeal, in which the court called the government’s claims of harm “manufactured,” said that the government’s arguments “mischaracterized” the court’s prior conclusions, and that the government is “somewhat audaciously” trying to avoid the court’s order by invoking an inapplicable order from a court in Florida.
“Once again, the courts have rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to revive an unlawful voter purge system built on unreliable data and Americans’ personal information,” said Marcia Johnson, chief of activation and justice at the League of Women Voters. “This administration has repeatedly tried to sidestep the law in pursuit of policies that threaten voters and another court has now ruled to protect privacy and our democracy. The League of Women Voters will continue fighting every attempt to weaponize government databases to intimidate voters, undermine confidence in our elections, or create unlawful barriers to the ballot box.”
“The court’s decision sends another clear message that the Trump administration cannot exploit our personal information through the unlawfully overhauled SAVE system,” said EPIC Deputy Director and Director of Enforcement John Davisson. “When the government siphons off our sensitive data and feeds it into a jerry-rigged voter screening tool, it threatens both our privacy and the fundamental right to vote. We’re pleased the D.C. Circuit rejected the government’s plea to stay that illegal course.”
On June 22, the D.C. district court ruled that the expanded SAVE program violated multiple laws and vacated the modified system as well as the government’s use of Social Security information for voter searches. The appeals court’s ruling will protect voters from being unlawfully purged due to the unreliable SAVE database and protect Americans’ sensitive personal information.
“The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to continue using its illegal, massive database of Americans’ personal information, and the courts are repeatedly and unambiguously saying no,” said CREW President Donald K. Sherman. “This is a crucial decision for ensuring free and fair elections, and we will continue to defend the privacy and voting rights of millions of Americans at risk of being unlawfully targeted by the administration’s unreliable voter purge database.”
“The courts have once again rejected the Trump-Vance administration’s attempt to weaponize Americans’ personal information against their fundamental freedom to vote,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The rule of law requires federal agencies to follow the statutes Congress enacted, not invent new ways to evade them. Our team at Democracy Forward, alongside our clients and partners, will continue fighting to protect voters, defend Americans’ privacy, and ensure that unlawful government actions are stopped.”
“The administration’s illegal attempt to create a national citizenship database and pressure state election officials into using it is predictably running into serious resistance from the courts,” said Fair Elections Center’s Litigation Director Jon Sherman. “Three federal judges have spoken clearly: Congress meant what it said when it enacted such robust restrictions on the use of Americans’ private data. These laws are not suggestions, and voting rights are not to be treated with such reckless disregard.”