The Trump administration has processed at least 67 million voter registrations through federal databases to verify voter eligibility, with most records coming from Republican-controlled states. The Department of Homeland Security's SAVE system identified approximately 24,000 potential noncitizens and 350,000 people who appear to have died among the 60 million registrations checked over the past year.

The verification process is part of a broader administration effort to expand federal oversight of election functions. The Department of Justice has pushed states to provide unredacted voter information for mass checks and has filed lawsuits against states that refuse to cooperate. At least 25 states have participated in the expanded program since April 2025.

The SAVE system, originally created to prevent government benefits from going to noncitizens, has drawn criticism from voting rights advocates who argue it produces errors that could disenfranchise eligible voters. Anthony Nel, a 29-year-old naturalized citizen from South Africa, had his Texas voter registration temporarily canceled after being flagged as a potential noncitizen. His case illustrates concerns about false positives in the system.

State procedures for handling flagged registrations vary significantly. Texas gives voters 30 days to prove eligibility, while Ohio requires local election boards to promptly cancel registrations of people identified as noncitizens. Some states suspend voting privileges immediately, while others allow flagged voters to cast ballots that are set aside for review.

Republican officials defend the system as a necessary tool for maintaining accurate voter rolls. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab called SAVE "one of the most important tools states have to verify voter information." Officials emphasize that the system identifies registrations requiring further investigation rather than providing definitive determinations.

Voting rights groups have filed at least six federal lawsuits challenging the SAVE checks, arguing the process violates voters' rights and relies on outdated or incomplete data. The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations contend that wrongly removed voters may miss elections while attempting to restore their registrations.