Escalation: Mullin urges states to scrub voter rolls

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin urged state election officials to scrub their voter rolls and to use the expanded SAVE system to verify citizenship. The tool was broadened last year to permit bulk queries of entire voter lists using Social Security numbers and Social Security Administration data.

SAVE is not a comprehensive record of U.S. citizens. Its own materials warn it may fail to confirm citizenship for people whose SSA files do not list them as citizens, and states are instructed to take additional steps before removing anyone when the response is anything other than “United States Citizen.”

The expansion is tied up in court. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked its use after finding it violated the Privacy Act, the Social Security Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act, and noted that some states have been actively removing citizens based on inaccurate information. Weeks later, a Florida judge required continued access for four states, leaving access in place under that order while broader use remains contested.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources