Appeals Court Refuses to Let DHS Use Its SAVE Database to Check Voter Rolls Before the Midterms, 2-1

On September 4, 2026, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined, 2-1, to lift a lower-court order barring the government from using the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to check the citizenship of registered voters ahead of the November 3 midterms. Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Robert Wilkins upheld the finding that the system as used violates the Social Security Act by sharing millions of Americans' private data; Judge Gregory Katsas dissented.

The decision is a setback for the administration's effort to use federal immigration and Social Security records to challenge state voter rolls. The majority noted that inaccurate data could force citizens to prove their status to stay registered or see registrations canceled. A Florida judge in July ordered DHS to keep giving four Republican-led states access.

The lower-court ban stays in place for the midterms. The government could seek en banc review or Supreme Court relief; no such filing had been reported at publication.