Election Experts Warn SAVE Program Expansion Could Disenfranchise Voters, Create Data Security Risks
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, election and privacy experts are warning that the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program poses significant risks to voter data security and could erroneously disenfranchise thousands or millions of registered voters.
The Trump administration has expanded the SAVE Program, which was originally designed to verify alien status for government benefit programs, to include voter roll maintenance. The stated goal is to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
However, experts argue this approach creates a "dangerous, error-prone effort to centralize voter data." Critics note that the federal government lacks clear legal authority to conduct such voter roll maintenance, and the program's database structure raises concerns about accuracy. Mistakes in the system could flag legitimate U.S. citizens as noncitizens, potentially blocking them from voting.
Beyond disenfranchisement risks, security researchers are also concerned about the implications of consolidating sensitive voter information within a federal database. The expansion could expose registered voters to new risks of data breaches or misuse of their personal information.