Republican-led states reach settlement with federal government regarding voter citizenship status checks

DES MOINES, Iowa Florida, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio have reached a settlement with the federal government concerning access to voters' citizenship records, concluding legal disputes that began under the Biden administration before the 2024 presidential election.

The states had filed individual lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security, alleging that crucial citizenship information had been withheld, preventing them from verifying whether certain registered voters were eligible to vote. The settlement, reached roughly a year after the lawsuits were initiated, involves cooperation with Secretary Kristi Noem and the DHS.

Under the agreement, the four states will be able to conduct large-scale searches for voters using names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The program received significant enhancements during the Trump administration.

In return, the states may share drivers license records with DHS to support improvements and modernization of its databases. This data-sharing initiative is expected to be a notable issue in the 2026 midterm elections. Voting rights organizations have challenged the expanded SAVE program, warning that recent updates could lead to lawful voters being mistakenly removed from voter rolls.

Previously, the Trump Department of Justice requested full voter lists from several states, raising concerns among Democratic election officials that the data could be transmitted to DHS. While federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting, and state audits indicate such occurrences are extremely rare, claims of widespread illegal voting were promoted during the 2024 election cycle.

The SAVE program, managed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has long allowed officials to verify citizenship for public benefit applicants by accessing multiple federal databases. Recent updates, announced publicly earlier this year, now enable election officials to check thousands of voters at once, free of charge, and without requiring DHS-issued identification numbers. Preliminary citizenship verification is returned within 48 hours when a name, birth date, and government-issued number are entered.

As part of the settlement, the four states will formalize a memorandum of understanding with the federal government within 90 days regarding the use of the SAVE system. They will also negotiate a new data-sharing agreement aimed at enhancing the program, which may include providing DHS with 1,000 randomly selected drivers license records from each state within 90 days.

Author: Sophia Brooks