Good Government Groups Urge Court to Block National Voter Database
WASHINGTON — In an amicus brief filed on Friday, Common Cause, Campaign Legal Center, Center for Media and Democracy, and Protect Democracy urged the US District Court for the District of Columbia to immediately stop the federal government from creating a centralized information system with Americans’ personal data that could be used to disenfranchise qualified voters.
“The law is clear: a national voter database is illegal,” said Dan Vicuña, Common Cause Senior Policy Director for Voting and Fair Representation. “The Trump administration wants to weaponize voters’ data to pick and choose who can and can’t vote. The court must act now to protect both our privacy and our right to cast a ballot.”
The groups argue the federal government’s attempt to overhaul the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE) is an illegal effort to nationalize voter registration. The overhauled SAVE system, never designed or authorized for these purposes, has citizenship data the government admits is riddled with errors and could prevent countless eligible Americans from voting.
Whistleblower Partners represents Common Cause and the other amici in filing the brief.
“This attempt by the federal government to create a national voter database is yet another example of unlawful overreach by the Trump administration,” said Jonathan Diaz, director of voting rights advocacy and partnerships at Campaign Legal Center. “The Constitution is clear: The states and Congress have the power to set rules around our elections — not the executive branch. Voters should have confidence when registering to vote that their sensitive data will be safeguarded, especially against unlawful government efforts to overhaul key privacy protections for Americans. We will continue to oppose this administration’s unlawful efforts to exert authority over elections.”
“The Trump Administration has manufactured a non-existent problem—non-citizen voting— in order to deceive the public and disrupt the election process—all with an eye to deny American citizens’ their fundamental right to vote,” said Jared Davidson, counsel at Protect Democracy. "The SAVE overhaul will do nothing to make our elections more secure—it only serves to sow distrust in our elections and disenfranchise voters.”
To view the amicus brief, click here.
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The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters’ right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials.
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