Supreme Court stay allows states to use SAVE for voter citizenship checks

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay that permits states to use the federal SAVE database to check voter citizenship, reversing lower-court restrictions while litigation continues. The database was built to assess immigrant benefit eligibility and has been adapted for voter screening. The ruling lets federal officials respond to state and local election officials' requests, but states are not required to use the system. Voting-rights groups argue that combining SAVE with Social Security records risks wrongly removing eligible voters. Election experts say federal limits on changes to registration within 90 days of an election could constrain its effect on the 2026 vote.