The Trump administration has unveiled the first centralized federal database of U.S. citizens. Developed behind the scenes by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the newly formed White House agency—the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE)—the system is designed to help state election officials cross-check voter registration data against federal immigration and Social Security records.
The initiative aims to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls, but critics argue the system has been rushed into use without adequate public oversight and could lead to privacy violations and wrongful removal of eligible voters.
Addressing a Long-Standing Void in Verification
Historically, no national database has existed to verify voter citizenship. Instead, states have relied on an inconsistent array of local documents such as birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and passports. This piecemeal approach, many election officials have said, often leads to errors and places a heavy burden on voters to provide proof of their eligibility.
The newly launched tool is intended to create a centralized, streamlined process. It gives election offices access to a federal portal where they can run large-scale checks of voter rolls against verified citizenship data. In theory, this could improve efficiency, reduce manual errors, and eliminate the need for voters to present documents repeatedly.
SAVE Transformed for Voting Use
At the core of the new system is a modified version of the existing DHS tool known as SAVE—Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. SAVE was originally designed to verify immigration status for applicants of public benefits and has been occasionally used by election officials in the past. However, it was not built to handle voter verification on a national scale.
That changed following a March 2025 executive order from President Trump, directing DHS to enhance SAVE for electoral use. By April, election officials were granted free access to submit large batches of voter data through the system. In May, the Social Security Administration’s citizenship data was also integrated into SAVE, dramatically expanding its reach. Since nearly all U.S. citizens have Social Security numbers, this allowed the system to confirm both natural-born and naturalized citizens.
DHS reported that in initial testing, over 9 million voter records were screened, with a self-reported accuracy rate exceeding 99.99%. However, no independent audit or verification of that figure has yet been made public.
Risks of Error and Gaps in Records
Despite claims of high accuracy, experts warn the system may still flag eligible voters incorrectly—particularly newly naturalized citizens, whose updated status may not yet be reflected in federal databases. Additionally, Social Security records have only tracked citizenship status since the early 1980s, leaving gaps for older Americans whose citizenship may not be recorded.
DHS has said that voters whose status cannot be confirmed will be contacted and given an opportunity to submit documentation. But civil rights advocates caution that such outreach could be confusing or intimidating, especially for older, low-income, or minority voters.
Political Momentum and Legal Battles
The launch of the national citizenship verification tool comes as Republican-led states continue to raise concerns—largely unsupported by data—about noncitizen voting. In 2024, several states, including Texas, Florida, and Ohio, sued the federal government, arguing that DHS was not providing them with sufficient means to verify citizenship for voter registration.
With the upgraded system now available, states such as Texas, Louisiana, and Idaho have begun pilot programs. However, some state officials have admitted they were not fully informed about all the changes to the SAVE system before its implementation.
The Trump administration has framed the tool as part of its broader agenda to secure elections. However, researchers and voting rights groups argue that proven instances of noncitizen voting remain rare and that the risk of overreach may do more harm than good by suppressing legitimate voters.
Lack of Transparency Sparks Concern
One of the most pressing concerns raised by legal experts and privacy advocates is the opaque rollout of the program. DHS has not published a Privacy Impact Assessment for the updated SAVE system—a standard requirement when federal agencies repurpose personal data for new uses. Nor has the agency issued formal public guidance on how voter data submitted through SAVE will be handled, stored, or shared.
Concerns escalated after reports surfaced that DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had briefed a conservative election advocacy group about the system behind closed doors. Without public input or clear oversight, critics fear the database could be politicized or misused.
