House Republicans Push To Let States Purge More Ineligible Voters; SAVE Database Proposal Draws Fire

Republican members of the U.S. House are pushing to rewrite parts of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to give states clearer authority to remove ineligible voters from registration lists — including noncitizens, people who have moved, and the deceased. A House Administration subcommittee hearing this week made clear that some congressional Republicans support a larger federal role in a process historically handled at the state level.

What Was at Issue

At the Subcommittee on Elections hearing, lawmakers debated proposals to clarify the NVRA's maintenance provisions. The NVRA requires state motor vehicle agencies to offer voter registration and mandates a general program of maintenance, but conservatives argue the statute's vague language makes routine list upkeep difficult.

Witnesses outlined two paths to expand removals: (1) amend the NVRA to explicitly require states to identify registrants who are 'ineligible on any basis' and (2) require or encourage state access to federal databases — notably the Department of Homeland Security's SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) system — to verify citizenship and immigration status.

Federal Pressure And Legal Actions

Since the Trump administration began, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have increased efforts to collect voter data and to press state officials to conduct more aggressive list maintenance. The Justice Department has filed suits seeking lists of registered voters from more than a dozen mostly Democratic states, and several Republican-led states previously sued the federal government over access to tools for identifying ineligible voters; those disputes were later resolved through settlement.

Privacy And Accuracy Concerns

Democrats, civil liberties groups and some state election officials warned that using SAVE or other federal databases risks exposing sensitive personal data. Unredacted voter rolls can contain driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers; linking those records to SAVE or Social Security data heightens privacy and data-sharing concerns.

Sophia Lin Lakin, ACLU: Overly broad purges risk wrongly removing eligible voters and undermining public confidence in elections.

Legal Safeguards Highlighted

Testimony also stressed existing protections in federal law. The NVRA includes a 90-day 'quiet period' before federal elections that prevents systematic removals during that interval, giving voters time to correct erroneous deletions and ensuring last-minute purges do not prevent people from voting.

Voices At The Hearing

Subcommittee Chair Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) urged clearer statutory language so election officials can maintain accurate rolls. Law professor Michael Morley of Florida State University recommended amending the NVRA to let states identify registrants who were never eligible, and suggested Congress consider mandating state access to SAVE or similar databases. Ranking member Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and other Democrats warned that expanded federal intervention and rushed purges could erect new barriers to voting and amplify misinformation-driven policy changes at the state level.

Political Outlook

Although House Republicans and the White House may back changes, a broad revision to federal voting law would likely face a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, making sweeping reform before the 2026 midterms unlikely. Still, the hearing signals continuing momentum among some Republicans for federal tools and standards to bolster state-level voter-roll maintenance.

Why It Matters

Changes to the NVRA or adoption of SAVE for voter verification could reshape how states manage registrations — balancing improved accuracy against risks to privacy, administrative burden, and the potential for wrongful removals. Policymakers must weigh data integrity and civil liberties while ensuring access to the ballot.

Reporting note: Stateline's Jonathan Shorman contributed to the original reporting.