President Donald Trump is making it easier for states to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections - changes that are certain to inflame Democrats, who have consistently attacked efforts to stop voter fraud.
New changes to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program will allow states to confirm immigration status using Social Security numbers rather than a Department of Homeland Security identifying number, which most state and local agencies do not collect.
SAVE is the federal government's system for looking up immigration and citizenship status.
The system, which is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is used by federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal agencies to verify eligibility for certain public benefits and licenses, including driver's licenses and voter eligibility.
Under Trump, the DHS is working with USCIS and DOGE to optimize the SAVE system and ensure a "single, reliable source for verifying immigration status and U.S. citizenship nationwide."
“For years, states have pleaded for tools to help identify and stop aliens from hijacking our elections,” said USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, USCIS is moving quickly to eliminate voter fraud. We expect further improvements soon and remain committed to restoring trust in American elections," Tragesser added.
In addition to Social Security lookups, USCIS will begin allowing state and local governments to submit more than one case at a time.
States can also submit requests free of charge for the first time, giving officials another incentive to ensure the integrity of their voter rolls.
Democrats have dismissed non-citizen voting as a negligible problem, and they generally oppose efforts to stop it from happening, claiming that new restrictions will cause eligible voters to be disenfranchised.
But without reliable ways of tracking non-citizens, it's difficult to have confidence in the integrity of elections.
Concerns about illegal voting have only increased after a historic influx of unlawful aliens during the Biden administration. Trump and his allies have accused Democrats of undermining election standards in order to encourage voter fraud, including by non-citizens.
Democrats have vehemently opposed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE), which requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
Improvements to USCIS' SAVE system will help states maintain accurate voter rolls, but the only way to fully protect elections is to enhance voting requirements through Congress.
