The Trump administration scored a temporary victory Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter database before November’s elections, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The 6-3 ruling gives the administration a temporary win in its efforts to restrict noncitizen voting, but because existing laws prevent states from purging voters from the rolls within 90 days of an election, it is not likely to further affect the forthcoming mid-term elections.
The court’s ruling allows states to use Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE), a voluntary Department of Homeland Security program, to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls.
In June, U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked the use of SAVE, ruling that it violated privacy rights and could remove valid voters from the rolls.
Since the administration began using SAVE last year, some registrants have already been wrongly flagged, the AP reported.
A federal appeals court declined to block Sooknanan’s ruling and the administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
The high court’s decision puts Sooknanan’s ruling on hold while it conducts its own review of SAVE.
