DOJ Tells Court It Will Share State Voter Rolls With DHS for SAVE Citizenship Checks

📌 Key Facts

DOJ plans to share sensitive voter-registration data it is collecting from states with DHS so DHS can run the records through the overhauled SAVE citizenship-check system; DOJ acknowledged this in a Rhode Island federal court hearing on March 27, 2026.
The arrangement would allow DHS—including ICE Homeland Security Investigations—to query DOJ-collected voter-roll records against DHS alien databases to identify potential noncitizen registrants or voters; Todd Lyons (senior official performing the duties of ICE acting director) is expected to make the formal request for access.
SAVE has previously produced inaccurate matches, at times flagging some U.S. citizens during earlier state-level list checks.
DOJ had not previously disclosed this planned data-sharing to judges in its litigation with 28 states and D.C., instead telling courts the data were needed for voter-roll maintenance compliance; Rhode Island’s secretary of state’s office confirmed DOJ disclosed the plan in the March 27 court hearing.
Internal debates within DOJ—at times involving the White House—are ongoing over whether to provide DHS large volumes of raw voter data or only limited fields such as voting history and eligibility-verification documents.
The government has not published a Privacy Act notice in the Federal Register or offered the public notice-and-comment opportunity that would ordinarily be required before compiling a large voter-registration database for immigration and criminal-enforcement purposes, raising legal compliance concerns.
Voting-rights group Campaign Legal Center says DOJ’s courtroom concession supports its view that the department’s lawsuits to obtain voter rolls are part of a broader effort to supplant states’ election-administration authority and raises fresh questions about Privacy Act compliance.

💬 Social Media Perspectives

@JakeCan72 highlights the DOJ's review of 47.5 million voter records from cooperating states, revealing over 260,000 dead people and thousands of non-citizens on the rolls, emphasizing the need for election integrity through purges and lawsuits against non-compliant states.
@DemocracyDocket reports that the Trump administration is sharing voter registration data with DHS to remove non-citizens, warning that DHS officials are briefing far-right groups on using federal databases for potential mass voter purges ahead of 2026.
@freetofic criticizes the DOJ's demand for unredacted voter rolls from 21 states as an identity theft tool, noting that the data will be shared with ICE via DHS to flag and purge voters deemed ineligible.
@RosieM00re points out that mostly blue states are refusing the DOJ's voter roll demands, arguing that DHS's role in eliminating non-citizens, dead people, and duplicates from federal election databases is beneficial and questions why it's viewed negatively.
@MN6Watch expresses concern over the lack of privacy protections and audit trails in sharing voter data with DHS, referencing past unauthorized transfers and stressing the importance of scrutinizing data handling post-sharing.

Based on 2 sources

📰 Source Timeline (3)

Follow how coverage of this story developed over time

March 27, 2026

9:53 PM

The Justice Department plans to share sensitive voter data with Homeland Security

NPR by Jude Joffe-Block

New information:

DOJ formally acknowledged in a Rhode Island federal court hearing on March 27, 2026 that it plans to share voter registration data it obtains from states with DHS so the data can be run through a citizenship check.
Rhode Island’s secretary of state’s office confirmed to NPR that DOJ made this disclosure in court, though a transcript is not yet available.
The story details that DOJ has not yet issued the Privacy Act notice or public comment opportunity that would be legally required before implementing such a data-sharing agreement.
It confirms DOJ is using an overhauled DHS SAVE system as the planned citizenship lookup tool and notes that SAVE has already inaccurately flagged some U.S. citizens in earlier state-level list checks.
Voting-rights group Campaign Legal Center says the courtroom concession confirms their suspicion that DOJ’s lawsuits to obtain voter rolls are part of a broader effort to supplant states’ election-administration authority and raises fresh questions about Privacy Act compliance.

March 26, 2026

6:32 PM

DOJ close to finalizing deal to hand over voter roll data to DHS, sources say

https://www.facebook.com/CBSNews/

New information:

DOJ and DHS are close to finalizing a formal agreement to let DHS’s ICE Homeland Security Investigations use sensitive voter registration data that DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is collecting from states.
The planned arrangement would allow DHS to query DOJ-collected voter registration records against DHS alien databases to identify potential non‑citizen registrants or voters.
Sources say Todd Lyons, the senior official performing the duties of ICE acting director, is expected to make the formal request for access to the data.
DOJ has not disclosed this pending data‑sharing plan to any of the courts in its ongoing litigation with 28 states and D.C. over unredacted voter rolls, instead telling judges the data are needed for voter‑roll maintenance compliance.
The government has not issued a Privacy Act notice in the Federal Register about compiling this large voter‑registration database for immigration and criminal enforcement, despite statutory notice‑and‑comment requirements.
Internal debates are underway inside DOJ over whether to give DHS large volumes of raw voter data versus more limited fields such as voting history and eligibility‑verification documents, and the White House has been involved in the discussions.

5:05 PM

Minnesota elections office subpoenaed in probe over state voter rolls, sources say

https://www.facebook.com/CBSNews/