LDF Strongly Condemns the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Restore Trump Administration’s SAVE Database

Read a PDF of our statement here.

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision allowing the Trump Administration to resume use of the flawed, expanded federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to check voters' citizenship status, a change that poses serious risks of voter disenfranchisement just weeks before the 2026 Midterm elections.

While SAVE has existed for years, the Trump Administration has dramatically expanded the system, including by aggregating sensitive information such as Social Security numbers. The database is also prone to errors and misidentification, raising concerns that eligible voters, including recently naturalized citizens, could be mistakenly purged from voter rolls. These risks are particularly concerning for Black voters, who are vulnerable to being misidentified by the current SAVE system and are disproportionately affected by voter purges.

LDF Associate Director-Counsel Todd A. Cox issued the following statement:

"The Supreme Court's decision today is a shamefully blatant effort to allow the Trump administration to tighten its self-imposed and unconstitutional stranglehold on American elections. As Justice Jackson explained in her dissent, the majority failed to consider the harms of allowing states to cancel eligible voters' registrations or demand additional proof of citizenship. Allowing the mass challenge and removal of voters through this deeply flawed and error-prone system is a direct assault on American voters and their privacy that risks disenfranchising Black voters who are more likely to have their names written incorrectly in government systems. The government must reject the executive's insistence upon crying wolf regarding election fraud and ensure every eligible citizen can participate in all our elections.

"This decision underscores the urgent need for voters to know their rights and take steps to confirm their registration and understand their options if their eligibility is challenged. We encourage all voters to confirm their voter registration, vote early if possible, and stay vigilant. Visit LDF.vote today to check your voter registration status, learn what's on your ballot, and prepare for the upcoming election."

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.