From Slate Magazine · Shirin Ali · · 1m 20s
Supreme Court Lets Trump Purge Voter Rolls
Supreme Court permits Trump administration to identify noncitizen voters in state rolls.
In brief
Supreme Court permits Trump administration to identify noncitizen voters in state rolls. Supreme Court allows Trump to use expanded voter database to find noncitizen voters but requires individual checks, not mass purges. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
Supreme Court decision
The Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can use expanded voter databases to find noncitizen voters.
“The Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can use expanded voter databases to find noncitizen voters”
Expanded SAVE database
The SAVE database combines immigration and social security data to check voter citizenship.
“Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements”
Trump’s order
Trump signed an executive order to review state voter rolls using the expanded SAVE database.
“Trump signed an executive order to review state voter rolls using the expanded SAVE database”
Nevada case
DHS identified 16,000 suspected noncitizens in Nevada but confirmed only 185 were noncitizens.
“DHS confirmed 185 are not U.S. Citizens”
DHS claims
DHS said they manually reviewed 185 suspected noncitizens but did not share the full list.
“DHS had not had a full manual review of each one”
False positives
DHS ran 50 million voter files and flagged 10,000 potential noncitizens with low error rates.
“DHS ran close to 50 million voter files”
Justice Jackson’s dissent
Justice Jackson warned the harm to lawful voters outweighs the risk of false positives.
“The harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the nonexistent harm”
Legal concerns
DHS violated privacy laws by haphazardly combining voter data without proper review.
“Flunked compliance with the Social Security Act, Privacy Act, and Administrative Procedure Act”
What happens next
Voters must confirm their citizenship before being removed from rolls.
“Voters need to clear up mistakes before being removed from rolls”
Unanswered questions
No mechanism to track ballots or retroactive application of the ruling.
“Is there any mechanism for voters to track their ballots?”
Here's the gist
Supreme Court allows Trump to use expanded voter database to find noncitizen voters but requires individual checks, not mass purges.
