Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The Supreme Court lets Homeland Security keep using its immigration database to check state voter rolls
Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked on September 8, 2026 for a stay of a judge’s order vacating the modified SAVE system; the Court granted it on September 25 over three dissents.
What happened
On September 8, 2026, Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court to stay Judge Sparkle Sooknanan’s June 22 order vacating the modified SAVE system that Homeland Security uses to check state voter rolls. The application is 26A308, Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters. A divided D.C. Circuit had refused a stay.
Sooknanan had found the 2025 expansion, which added Social Security data and bulk uploads, violated the Privacy Act, the Social Security Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The application said the system had checked more than 65 million registrations. On September 25, the Court granted the stay in an unsigned opinion, with Justice Jackson dissenting, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan. The stay runs through the appeal and any certiorari petition.
Who benefited
Homeland Security gets to keep running state voter rolls through the expanded SAVE system while the case continues. The Court’s stay covers the appeal and any certiorari petition. The system has checked more than 65 million registrations, per the government’s application.
Who wanted something
The Justice Department wanted the vacatur of the expanded SAVE system lifted so DHS could keep checking state voter rolls. Sauer filed on September 8. The 2025 expansion added Social Security data and bulk uploads, which Judge Sooknanan found violated 3 laws.
Who lost out
Voters whose registrations are run through the system lose the protection of the district court’s finding that the expansion broke 3 laws. Justice Jackson, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan, dissented. The League of Women Voters won in the district court and now waits on the appeal.
Why it matters
A judge found the expanded SAVE system violated the Privacy Act, the Social Security Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Supreme Court let it keep running. The stay lasts through the appeal and any certiorari petition. Voter rolls will be checked against Social Security data in the meantime.
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