Recent reports indicate a rise in voter registrations by individuals without citizenship status in New Jersey, prompting scrutiny of the state’s verification methods.
New Jersey is among the states that have not adopted the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system for checking immigration status during voter registration or roll maintenance.
SAVE, administered by USCIS, provides verification of immigration status and citizenship but leaves the decision to register or remove a voter to state and local officials.
As of June 30, 2025, 26 states reported using SAVE for voter‑registration or roll‑maintenance, processing 198 million cases that year. The remaining 24 states have no public indication of using SAVE.
In August 2022, New Jersey joined the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit that assists jurisdictions in maintaining accurate voter rolls. The state’s agreement with ERIC does not permit the organization to receive or record information indicating a registrant’s non‑citizen status.
ERIC’s bylaws expressly prohibit the collection of non‑citizen data, and the consortium does not integrate the SAVE system into its processes.
Following the 2016 election, enhancements to SAVE were mandated, allowing bulk processing of voter lists, inclusion of Social Security Administration data, and searches by name, date of birth, and the last four digits of the Social Security number. The cost per transaction was eliminated, facilitating larger‑scale checks. These changes aimed to improve efficiency in citizenship verification.
SAVE operates as an interface to the Verification Information System (VIS), which aggregates data from multiple federal immigration and citizenship databases, including travel records, benefit applications, and naturalization files.
Legal challenges have been filed against the use of SAVE in elections. In a recent decision, a district court issued an injunction citing privacy concerns and the potential for misidentification, temporarily halting the enhanced SAVE system.
A subsequent ruling by a federal judge in Florida lifted the injunction, restoring the ability of jurisdictions that have adopted SAVE to conduct bulk citizenship verification.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security have expressed support for the reinstated system, emphasizing its role in confirming citizenship status. Legal scholars have noted that the ruling expands governmental access to comprehensive verification sources.
New Jersey’s experience reflects a broader national pattern, with multiple states reporting the registration of non‑citizens despite existing verification tools. The constraints within ERIC’s framework continue to limit the sharing of non‑citizen information among member jurisdictions.
The ongoing debate centers on balancing election integrity with privacy protections and the practical challenges of maintaining accurate voter rolls.
