The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on September 25 that the Department of Homeland Security's Modified Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program may be used to verify the citizenship of individuals registering to vote.
The ruling overturned a previous order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued on June 22, 2026, that had attempted to halt the system's implementation. DHS had filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court after the lower court order.
The citizenship verification initiative follows President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14248, "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," signed in March 2025, which directed the DHS Secretary to provide state and local officials access to verification systems without fee.
DHS General Counsel James Percival called the decision "a victory for election integrity," according to a department statement.
The case is titled Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters.