URGENT UPDATE: New reports confirm that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) voter citizenship verification tool is flagging thousands of eligible voters as noncitizens, raising alarm across multiple states. This issue has emerged as a significant concern just days before crucial midterm elections.
County clerk Brianna Lennon from Boone County, Missouri, was shocked when her office received an email in November, identifying 74 voters as potential noncitizens. Investigations revealed that over half were confirmed citizens. Lennon criticized the tool, stating, “It really does not help my confidence that the information we are trying to use to make really important decisions is so inaccurate.”
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) tool, which was expanded at the direction of President Donald Trump, has been misidentifying voters. Initially designed to check eligibility for public benefits, SAVE is now being used to verify voter citizenship on a large scale. However, reports from local election officials indicate that it is making persistent errors, particularly regarding individuals who have become U.S. citizens after being born abroad.
DHS has acknowledged that its system struggles to reflect the most current citizenship information. In Texas alone, 2,724 potential noncitizens were flagged, and further analysis revealed that this was part of a broader issue affecting at least 87 voters across 29 counties. As a result, county election administrators have been instructed to demand proof of citizenship from flagged individuals, causing confusion and distress.
The situation is particularly alarming in Texas, which has about 35 million registered voters. Reports indicate an error rate of over 5% in the flagged voter list, with many citizens wrongly identified. Election officials like Bobby Gonzalez from Duval County expressed skepticism about the validity of the SAVE tool, stating, “I really find no merit in any of this.”
In response to a surge of inaccuracies, some states are reconsidering their use of the SAVE tool. Recent communications between state and federal officials show that DHS has been forced to correct information in multiple states, including Texas and Missouri. As of now, 27 states have agreed to use SAVE, while others remain hesitant due to privacy and accuracy concerns.
The implications of these errors are significant. Individuals like Sofia Minotti, a naturalized citizen who was flagged as a potential noncitizen, are forced to prove their citizenship, creating an emotional burden for many who have done nothing wrong. Minotti stated, “I’m here legally, and everything I’ve done has been per the law. I really have no idea why I had to prove it.”
As the midterms approach, the urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. Election integrity advocates are calling for immediate reviews of the SAVE tool’s data and processes to prevent disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
Officials are now scrambling to ensure the voter rolls are accurate before the elections, but many clerks, like Lennon, are wary of relying on SAVE’s findings. “This is not ready for prime time,” she concluded. “And I’m not going to risk the security and the constitutional rights of my voters for bad data.”
Stay tuned for ongoing updates on this developing story as election officials work to address these critical issues before the upcoming elections.
