Trump’s Department of Homeland Security recently created a new voter citizenship check system called “Overhauled SAVE”.
Overhauled SAVE is a massive database with Social Security numbers for all Americans (drivers’ licenses will be added soon as well) that states can run their voter rolls through to detect non-citizen voters.
Like so many other programs this administration has assembled, Overhauled SAVE is deeply flawed. States using the new system are improperly accusing eligible voters around the country of being “non-citizens” and making them prove their citizenship in order to vote.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is accepting comments right now on Overhauled SAVE. Send a comment to DHS and speak out against this new voter purge system:
How to leave a comment on Overhauled SAVE:
Due to changes made by the Trump Administration, you'll need to leave a comment on the government's website rather than through this form. Here is a sample message you can copy and paste (or you can adjust it or write your own):
I’m concerned about the new Overhauled SAVE system. This system sounds like a privacy and voting rights nightmare, and I think you should discontinue it as soon as possible.
Every analysis of non-citizen voting comes to the same conclusion: It is extremely rare. There is simply no widespread non-citizen voting happening in federal elections. Combining lots of Americans’ sensitive information into one massive database won’t help you find what doesn’t exist. It’ll only increase the rate of false positives (eligible voters with the same name in the same area as non-citizens, for example) and kick eligible voters off the rolls. This problem is only amplified by the low quality of the data in some of the datasets Overhauled SAVE is using.
Collecting all of this data together isn’t just a threat to the voting rights of American citizens, it’s also a privacy and security nightmare. Overhauled SAVE is an easy target for bad actors in any presidential administration who can access the data and use it for things other than its intended purpose. And it’s also making things easy for outside hackers: If you want Americans’ Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, or passport information, now it’s all in one place.
Overhauled SAVE isn’t fixing a problem, and it’s creating new ones. Social Security numbers, passport information, driver’s licenses, and other data that was added during the overhaul should be removed from the system. Please do not proceed with Overhauled SAVE.
