Today, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration may continue to utilize new systems it has put into place “to verify the citizenship status of registered voters and individuals registering to vote.” These systems include the use of Social Security records to verify voter eligibility and, to further election security, allows states and local authorities to “conduct bulk searches of multiple individuals at once.”
These efforts were previously “set aside and vacated” by a District Court after a number of plaintiffs sued. The Government’s request for a stay of that decision pending appeal was denied by the District Court, and a divided panel of the D.C. Circuit “also denied the Government’s application for a stay.”
In its per curiam opinion (to which the three liberal justices dissented), the Court granted the Government’s request for a stay of the District Court’s order pending appeal. It noted that the District Court’s decision that these systems were unlawful was likely to be reversed, as they actually conformed with federal law. The Court also concluded that many of the plaintiffs who sued did not have standing, and that the Government “is likely to suffer irreparable harm absent a stay” because the Government is required by law to “respond to requests from state and local election officials seeking to verify the citizenship of voters.”
This is a great sign for election security: the D.C. Circuit, which is reviewing the appeal of the District Court’s decision, is now bound by the Supreme Court’s conclusions that the Trump administration’s initiative is lawful. Furthermore, the Trump administration, along with state and local authorities, can continue to ensure that there is legal voting in the upcoming 2026 midterms while the case proceeds through the appeals process.
