The United States Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to implement a voter verification system known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. This decision was made through an emergency order on September 25, 2026, just weeks before the midterm elections scheduled for November 3, 2026. The Department of Homeland Security will use this system to verify the eligibility of voters on state voter rolls.
Voting rights organizations have raised concerns that the system may incorrectly classify eligible voters as non-citizens, potentially leading to wrongful purges from voter rolls. They cited an example from Travis County, Texas, where an election official reported that up to 25 percent of individuals flagged as non-citizens by the system were actually U.S. citizens.
While states manage their own election processes and are not mandated to use the SAVE system, several Republican-led states have chosen to adopt it. The Supreme Court's decision does not provide a final ruling on the legality of the system but allows its use until the court reaches a conclusive decision.
The three liberal justices on the court issued a dissenting opinion, expressing concern over the potential harm the modified SAVE system could cause to lawful voters. The Citizens for Ethics watchdog group criticized the ruling, stating it could lead to millions of Americans being unfairly targeted by the administration's voter purge system shortly before the elections.
President Trump has emphasized election administration issues leading up to the midterms, which may influence the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. He has previously made unsubstantiated claims about widespread election fraud and has asserted that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.” However, evidence indicates that instances of voter fraud, including non-citizen voting, are extremely rare in the U.S. In a related matter, the Supreme Court recently declined to support Trump's attempt to limit mail ballot procedures ahead of the midterm elections.