Quick answer
The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 25 stayed a lower-court order that had blocked the federal government’s modified Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, known as SAVE. The modified system can draw on Social Security Administration records and can support bulk searches by state and local officials. The Supreme Court’s order is temporary while the underlying case continues; it is not a final ruling resolving every legal issue surrounding the program. [1] For Virginia, the practical effect is more limited than the federal ruling might suggest. Current Virginia law says the Department of Elections may use SAVE only for individual citizenship verification tied to a defined set of DMV records. The same section expressly says the department may not upload lists of registered voters to SAVE for bulk verification, may not use SAVE information as the sole reason to reject a voter-registration application, and may not send more information to the Department of Homeland Security than necessary for the permitted individual check. [2][3] That distinction matters in Coastal Virginia because any SAVE-based action affecting a voter would move through Virginia’s state election system and then to the voter’s local general registrar. Virginia law requires notice before cancellation in these cases and gives the voter 14 days from the mailing date to submit a sworn statement affirming U.S. citizenship. [4]
What the Supreme Court changed
The case, Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters, concerns changes made to SAVE after a March 2025 executive order. According to the Supreme Court’s Sept. 25 opinion, the modified system added checks against Social Security Administration records and allowed state and local authorities to run bulk searches of multiple people. [1]
A federal district court had set aside the modified system, concluding that the changes violated federal privacy and administrative-law requirements. The D.C. Circuit declined to stay that ruling while the appeal proceeded.
The Supreme Court reversed that interim posture. In an unsigned opinion, the Court said the federal government had shown a sufficient likelihood of success to justify a stay. The majority relied heavily on federal immigration law that requires the Department of Homeland Security to respond to state and local requests for citizenship or immigration-status information. [1]
The Court did not issue a final merits judgment. The stay remains tied to the ongoing appeal and any later Supreme Court review.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The dissent emphasized privacy concerns and the risk that outdated federal citizenship records could require some naturalized citizens to prove their status again. The majority opinion itself acknowledged one plaintiff whose Social Security records did not reflect that she had become a naturalized citizen. [1]
What Virginia law allows
Virginia has its own statutory framework for SAVE.
Section 24.2-404 of the Code of Virginia directs the Department of Elections to participate in SAVE for the sole purpose of individually verifying the current citizenship status of people who previously provided certain federal immigration or legal-presence documents to the Virginia DMV. [2]
The linked DMV provision is narrower than the full voter file. Section 46.2-328.1 requires the DMV to record and provide election officials with the federal document number, when available, for applicants who presented proof of lawful presence other than U.S. citizenship. [3]
Virginia election law then places three explicit limits on SAVE use:
• SAVE information cannot be the sole reason for rejecting a voter-registration application.
• The Department of Elections cannot upload lists of registered voters to SAVE for bulk citizenship verification.
• The department cannot send DHS more information than is necessary for the individual verification permitted by state law. [2]
Those restrictions remain part of Virginia law after the Supreme Court’s Sept. 25 order.
Local administration in Coastal Virginia
Virginia’s cancellation statute also requires mailed notice before a registration is cancelled in a SAVE-related case and provides a 14-day response period for a sworn citizenship statement. [4]
Because local general registrars carry out that notice process, any SAVE-based state determination affecting a resident of Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore or another Coastal Virginia locality would ultimately move through the local election office.
The 90-day federal rule
The Supreme Court’s opinion separately addressed the National Voter Registration Act’s 90-day rule. Federal law generally requires states to complete programs aimed at systematically removing ineligible voters no later than 90 days before a federal election. The Court said that rule limits the potential impact of its SAVE decision this close to the Nov. 3 election, while individualized inquiries may still occur during the 90-day period. The Court also said it was not deciding the full scope of that provision in this case because the question is being litigated separately. [1]
For Virginia, that federal limit exists alongside the state-law restriction barring the Department of Elections from uploading the voter roll to SAVE in bulk.
What this decision does not show
The Sept. 25 order does not establish that Virginia has begun a new statewide SAVE operation or that Coastal Virginia registrars have received new SAVE-based reports since the order was issued.
The public materials reviewed for this article also do not establish how many Virginia voters, if any, could be subject to new individual SAVE checks before the general election. Those are implementation questions, not conclusions that can be drawn from the Supreme Court order itself.
Sources
- U.S. Supreme Court, Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters, No. 26A308, Sept. 25, 2026 — U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Supreme Court, Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters, No. 26A308, Sept. 25, 2026
- Code of Virginia, § 24.2-404, Duties of Department of Elections — Code of Virginia. Code of Virginia, § 24.2-404, Duties of Department of Elections
- Code of Virginia, § 46.2-328.1, DMV documentation and legal-presence records — Code of Virginia. Code of Virginia, § 46.2-328.1, DMV documentation and legal-presence records
- Code of Virginia, § 24.2-427, notice and cancellation procedures — Code of Virginia. Code of Virginia, § 24.2-427, notice and cancellation procedures
- Virginia Department of Elections, Election and Voter FAQ — Virginia Department of Elections. Virginia Department of Elections, Election and Voter FAQ