Officials in a key battleground state dealt another setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to shore up election integrity.
Wisconsin election officials have barred the state’s roughly 1,800 municipal clerks from using a federal database to verify voters’ citizenship, putting the state at odds with a Trump administration initiative aimed at identifying potential noncitizens on voter rolls.
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously approved guidance earlier this month stating that clerks cannot use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, known as SAVE, to conduct citizenship checks.
The decision came only weeks after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, temporarily cleared the Trump administration to continue operating its expanded version of SAVE while litigation over the program proceeds.
SAVE was created to allow government agencies to verify the immigration status of people applying for certain public benefits and licenses, but the Trump administration expanded the system to make it available for voter citizenship verification.
The revamped system incorporates additional federal information, including Social Security Administration records, and allows state and local officials to submit voter information to determine whether federal records can confirm citizenship.
Wisconsin Elections Commission officials said the issue is not whether clerks should verify citizenship but whether existing state law permits them to transmit voters’ personally identifiable information to the federal government through SAVE.
The commission concluded that Wisconsin law prohibits election officials from disclosing the information required by SAVE, making it impossible for municipal clerks to use the system without additional authorization from the Legislature.
Commission Chairman Don Millis defended that interpretation in a letter to legislative leaders, saying lawmakers could establish a citizenship-verification process if they explicitly authorize the necessary data sharing and define the responsibilities of state and local officials.
Republican Commissioner Robert Spindell said he disagreed with the rationale for refusing to cooperate with the federal Departments of Justice and Homeland Security but ultimately joined the unanimous vote approving the guidance.
“The day before the commission voted, JoCasta Zamarripa, the Democrat candidate running to be Wisconsin Secretary of State, stated in an interview that her ‘number one priority’ was to pass legislation granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens,” the Daily Wire reported.
“In Wisconsin, a valid driver’s license allows an eligible voter to register online,” the site added.
Democrat gubernatorial nominee David Crowley has expressed support for expanding benefits to undocumented immigrants.
During a candidate forum earlier this year, Crowley indicated his support for granting driver’s licenses to noncitizens by raising his hand when the question was posed.
He also agreed that law enforcement should not inquire about an individual’s immigration status, the Daily Wire noted.
Critics contend that Wisconsin law already contains an exception permitting voter-registration information to be transferred to law enforcement agencies or used for law-enforcement purposes, raising questions about the commission’s interpretation.
Republican state Sen. André Jacque criticized the decision, arguing that the commission was disregarding a provision he believes allows voter information to be shared with agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security for citizenship verification.
The controversy comes as Wisconsin remains at the center of broader disputes over voter-roll maintenance and citizenship verification heading into the November midterm elections.
Only U.S. citizens are legally permitted to vote in federal elections, and Wisconsin requires prospective voters to attest to their citizenship when registering.
But that all relies on an honor system the Trump administration and Republicans argue is being abused by illegal aliens and abetted by Democrats.
Wisconsin officials have previously resisted efforts to impose additional citizenship checks, including litigation over whether the Elections Commission should compare voter-registration records with state Department of Transportation information.
The Supreme Court’s September decision did not settle the underlying legal challenge to SAVE but temporarily lifted a lower-court restriction that had prevented the federal government from using portions of the expanded system.
The majority said federal immigration law obligates the government to respond when state and local election officials request assistance verifying voter citizenship, while the three liberal justices dissented over concerns about privacy and the possibility of eligible citizens being incorrectly affected.
