Among the words will be the problem of data security

A single hacking site threatens to block thousands or millions of voters, leaving many more at risk or having their data breached, in the name of tackling a problem that never existed.

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, election and privacy experts are warning about the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, which President Donald Trump’s administration has expanded to catch non-voters. Experts say this is a flawed, flawed attempt at polling data among voters. “The government doesn’t have the authority to do this and it doesn’t have the expertise,” said Eileen O’Connor, senior counsel at the Brennan Center.

The SAVE program, which was created in 1987 to verify people’s eligibility, consults federal databases to determine immigration status. Last yearTrump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) began calling on nearly all states to turn over all voter information to the program, and remove any voters the agency deems ineligible within 45 days. These fields may contain sensitive information, including social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and in some cases, voter participation records.

DOJ spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre said Seaside that the agency has the authority under laws such as the National Voter Registration Act to “ensure that states have proper voter registration procedures and systems to maintain voter rolls with only eligible voters for state elections.” Those who oppose it say that the organization is overstepping its bounds. But while other states have successfully fought the system, 16 have agreed to provide full voter registration lists, according to the Brennan Centerand two – Texas and Alaska – agreed to use the cleanup.

In October 2025, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said a search of more than 18 million people against SAVE data found 2,724 registrants as “potentially non-citizens.” The government asked the states to investigate the inconsistencies and refer those determined to be non-citizens to the state attorney general.

But SAVE is an unreliable sign of citizenship. Among other places, it leaves the Social Security Administration (SSA), which he agrees that his information is a “summary of time,” which can provide “an indication of citizenship,” not “confirmed information.” Current citizens – those who can legally receive benefits or register to vote – cannot be identified by this photo. DHS only he agrees that users of the program must verify the exit information other than “Citizen of the United States.”

Multiple courses also government research where did you get it non-citizen minority voting in US elections. A 2014 analysis published in The Washington Post, for example, they found 31 valid voter transactions out of a billion votes cast since 2000.

Nelson says “The Trump administration’s decision to give states access to this data for the first time has made a big difference,” but many polls and privacy experts say it’s not a good thing. States have always been in charge of elections, and they have ways of conducting elections. Demands for unedited voter files limit the impact of elections and increase voter privacy concerns, they say.

“Administrators will continue to face perceived risk, some would say by design, rather than by default,” said John Davisson, deputy director and director of enforcement at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which has been doing well. were arrested to stop the spread of SAVE. “And it’s causing people to lose their right to vote.”

The danger is not just fiction. Retail space included NPR and The Texas Tribune have identified US citizens who were wrongly designated through SAVE. “If people feel they can be prosecuted and investigated, even though they have the right to vote, it can lower registration rates,” says Davisson. “It will start to create a culture of fear that prevents participation in democracy.” It’s also part of a bigger threat: Trump it has floated to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the National Guard go to polling stations to ensure “authentic elections,” even if the armed forces are armed. more prohibited since its establishment.

O’Connor, who previously worked in the voting division of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, said the agency would not require states to provide full voter names in the presence of Trump. When they did, it was usually for court cases or other investigations. He said: “This is a waste of time.”

This is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to freeze the agency’s data. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), for example, attempted to create a large database including personal information in several organizations, to avoid regular security, The Washington Post report.

Even if you think the government has a lot of information about you, it’s still a lot data that is simply storedsuch as driver’s license numbers and voting records. The Census Bureau goes even further assure citizens that their privacy is protectedbecause failure to do so could jeopardize the entire census process (Trump has opposed this, and is pushing to change the Census. identify and exclude undocumented immigrants). The Privacy Act of 1974 It also restricts how federal agencies can share information with each other.

Voter turnout data, O’Connor says, is a way Republicans are “laying the groundwork to question the outcome of future elections, if they don’t go the way they want.” The Florida US Attorney’s office recently brought Kurt Olsen, rejecting the 2020 electionas attorney general.

Large collections of personal information can also be an attractive target for hackers. Well known 2015 violation of US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations exposed the personal information of more than 22 million people, including government employees, contractors, and their friends and family, which is why experts were concerned about DOGE’s actions in data integration. EPIC found that the DOJ’s promised security for voter rolls “contains vague promises of security and empty claims.”

Trump’s administration may not be able to build the consensus voting list of his dreams, but they may still have the money. Davisson points to President Donald Trump recently Executive Order forcing the Postal Service to ban mail-in ballots unless states turn over their ballots to agencies. He said: “They are trying to prevent these people from being able to vote by mail, which is the most important way to exercise their right to vote today. “And they are doing this by using your information to create these lists.”

State and local officials should have the final say on their voting lists, and citizens may have the opportunity to edit those records — Davisson suggests checking in advance with state election officials. But they can also easily miss information and get banned, or fear getting into trouble for falling behind. “The system needs to work to ensure that they have the right to vote,” says Davisson. “So it’s a shame that this is a problem that people are concerned about now.”