The midterm elections will be a data security nightmare

A chaotic database threatens to disenfranchise thousands or even millions of registered voters, while leaving even more people at risk of intimidation or data breaches, in the name of solving a problem that barely exists.

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, elections and privacy experts are sounding the alarm about the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlements (SAVE) program, which President Donald Trump’s administration has expanded to ostensibly include noncitizen voting. Experts say this amounts to a dangerous and error-prone effort to centralize voter data. “The federal government doesn’t have the authority to do any of this, nor does it have the expertise,” says Eileen O’Connor, senior counsel at the Brennan Center. “Investigating themselves into the day-to-day functioning of state elections is unprecedented and troubling.”

The SAVE program, created in 1987 to verify public benefit eligibility, queries federal databases to determine the immigration status of residents. last yearthe Trump-era Department of Justice (DOJ) began requiring nearly every state to submit complete voter information to be considered for the program, then purging any voters the agency deemed ineligible within 45 days. These state lists can include a wealth of sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and, in some cases, voter participation histories.

Justice Department spokeswoman Nathalie Baldassare said Edge That the agency has authority under laws like the National Voter Registration Act “to ensure that states have appropriate voter registration procedures and programs to maintain clean voter rolls that contain only eligible voters in federal elections.” Those who challenge that say the agency is far exceeding its authority. But while some states successfully resisted the order, 16 agreed to turn over their full voter registration rolls. According to the Brennan CenterTwo – Texas and Alaska – agreed to carry out the purge.

In October 2025, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson He said a review of more than 18 million against SAVE data identified 2,724 “potential non-citizens” registrants. The state asked local counties to further investigate the discrepancies and refer people they confirmed were noncitizens to the state attorney general.

But saving is an unreliable indicator of citizenship. Among other places, it withdraws from the Social Security Administration (SSA), which He confesses Its information is only a “snapshot in time” that can give an “indicator of citizenship” rather than “final information.” Newly naturalized citizens — who can legally receive benefits or register to vote — may not be identified by this snapshot. The Department of Homeland Security itself He confesses That users of the program must check any outputs besides “US Citizen”.

Multiple studies Besides State investigations I found it Very few non-citizens Voting in the US elections. A 2014 analysis Published in Washington Post, For example, it found 31 credible cases of voter impersonation out of 1 billion ballots cast since 2000.

Nelson claims that the Trump administration’s “decision to give states free, direct access to this data set for the first time is a game-changer,” but many elections and privacy experts say that’s not a good thing. States have always been responsible for administering elections, and they have the processes in place to do so. They say demanding unredacted voter files only creates undue control over elections and exposes voters to increased privacy risks.

“The administration acted on this known risk intentionally, not just negligently,” says John Davison, deputy director and director of enforcement at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which managed this risk. He filed a lawsuit to block SAVE’s expansion. “This results in people losing the right to vote.”

The risk is not hypothetical. Outlets including NPR and Texas Tribune You have identified US citizens who were wrongly flagged via SAVE. “If people feel they might be subject to prosecution and investigation, even though they are legally entitled to vote, that will drive down registration rates,” Davison says. “It will tend to create a culture of fear that limits democratic participation.” It’s also part of a larger pattern of potential intimidation: Trump Send has been put forward Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the National Guard to polling places to ensure a “fair election,” despite the presence of armed federal agents. Generally prohibited from spreading there.

O’Connor, who previously worked in the voting section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, says the agency rarely requires states to submit full voter rolls before Trump. When they did, it was usually for a court case or specific investigation. “This is just the effort of vacuuming,” she says.

This is just the latest effort by the Trump administration to centralize agency data. For example, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attempted to build a massive database Combining information about individuals Across multiple agencies, bypassing traditional data security protections, The Washington Post I mentioned.

Although you may think that the government already has a lot of information about you, there is still a lot of it Data held by states onlysuch as driver’s license numbers and voting history. The Census Bureau goes to great lengths to make this happen Reassure residents that their privacy is protectedBecause failure to do so could jeopardize the entire census project (arguably, Trump has conceded on this matter, and pushed to change the census). Identifying and excluding illegal immigrants). the Privacy Act 1974 It also limits how federal agencies share information with each other.

Gathering voter information is how some Republicans are now laying the groundwork to be able to question future election results if things don’t go the way they want them to go, O’Connor says. The Florida Attorney General’s Office recently brought in Kurt Olsen, 2020 election denierAs a great lawyer.

Large collections of personal information can also be attractive targets for hackers. Notorious 2015 breach of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) It exposed sensitive information about more than 22 million people, including federal employees, contractors and their friends and family, which is partly why experts are concerned about DOGE’s data consolidation efforts. EPIC found that the guarantees promised by the Justice Department regarding voter rolls were “full of vague security promises and empty recitations.”

The Trump administration likely cannot create the unified voting slate of its dreams, but it could still have costs. Davison refers to President Donald Trump’s recent statements Executive order Requiring the Postal Service to withhold mail-in ballots from homes unless states submit their voter lists to the feds. “They’re trying to prevent these people from voting by mail, which is a critical way to exercise the right to vote in this day and age,” he says. “And they do this by exploiting personal information by creating these lists.”

State and local officials are supposed to have the final say on voter rolls, and citizens may get a chance to correct the record — Davison suggests checking with local election officials beforehand. But they could also easily miss notice and be deprived of their rights, or fear they will get into trouble for backtracking. “The system must work to ensure their basic right to vote,” says Davison. “So it’s a shame that this is an issue that people have to worry about now.”