US Supreme Court Allows Trump Voter Roll Checks

The United States (US) Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to use a national database to check voter citizenship records.

The ruling gives the administration a legal victory before the November midterm elections.

A majority of the nine justices joined the unsigned opinion on Friday.

The court’s three liberal justices dissented.

The decision lifts a lower-court order that had blocked use of the national database.

The Department of Homeland Security operates the database, known as Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE).

SAVE is used to verify citizenship status when determining eligibility for government benefits.

The Trump administration had sought to use the system to identify potential non-citizens on voter rolls.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the national government “has an obligation to respond to requests from state and local election officials seeking to verify the citizenship of voters.”

The court also said the lower court order had prevented the national government from using the program it considered best suited for the task.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that non-citizens vote in US elections.

He has also raised concerns about fraud involving mail-in ballots.

However, election experts said the ruling is unlikely to have a major impact on the November elections.

Most US states prohibit voter-roll purges within 90 days of an election.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked a Trump administration plan to restrict mail-in ballots.

Trump reacted angrily to that decision.

He described the ruling as “horrible” and “highly political” in a Truth Social post.

The latest ruling comes as Trump and his administration continue efforts to strengthen voter eligibility checks before the midterm elections.