In a new notice to a federal court, the Department of Justice has partially confirmed allegations made by a DHS whistleblower, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). The filing comes in a lawsuit brought by EPIC and the League of Women Voters challenging the Department of Homeland Security's expansion of the SAVE system, a citizenship-verification tool.
The plaintiffs argue that DHS's attempt to broaden SAVE for voter-eligibility checks violates the U.S. Constitution and federal privacy laws. They have warned that SAVE was not designed for this purpose, and that using it to screen voters could lead to errors and disenfranchisement.
The DOJ's partial confirmation lends some support to the whistleblower's account, though the extent of that confirmation and its legal implications remain to be litigated. The case continues to focus on whether DHS overstepped its authority in repurposing a system meant for immigration benefit checks, not election administration.