North Carolina Election Board Approves SAVE Database for Voter Verification

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 on Tuesday to authorize an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to verify the citizenship status of voters. The board will utilize the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to cross-reference voter registration records against federal citizenship data.

Under state law, the board will report potential noncitizens to county boards of elections. These local boards must then notify the affected voters by mail within one month; any individual who does not object to the finding will be removed from the voter rolls. The decision, led by a Republican majority, aligns with efforts by the Trump administration to implement a similar national verification program.

Democratic board member Siobhan Millen opposed the measure, citing a 2017 audit that showed the SAVE database produced numerous false positives by identifying citizens as noncitizens. Proponents of the move, including board member Stacey Eggers IV and Executive Director Sam Hayes, argued the tool is necessary to ensure elections are reserved for citizens and to prevent the dilution of legitimate votes.