| The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision today that the federal administration can use the expanded federal SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) Database to check the citizenship status of voters.
Existing law blocks most states from “systemically” purging voters within 90 days of an election. However, there are still concerns that this program could unlawfully purge countless voters from the rolls ahead of the midterm elections.
LWV of the United States (along with partners) challenged the database, arguing in a brief to the Supreme Court that Congress has not authorized the federal government to create a “master database of U.S. citizens,” nor does it have data accurate enough to build one.
“Today’s decision is profoundly disappointing, as it puts millions of Americans at risk of being unlawfully targeted by the administration’s unreliable voter purge database weeks before the midterm elections. However, this case is not over. The D.C. district court ruled that the expanded SAVE program violated multiple laws. We will be doing everything in our power to protect Americans’ voting and privacy rights by ensuring that the district court decision stands.”
At this point, the decision will have no impact on voters in New York State. Our State Board of Elections refused to turn over voter data to be used for this database. In retaliation for this refusal, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Board. LWV of New York State filed a motion to intervene in this suit as a defendant, which was granted. The case is ongoing.
In League, |
