Washington, D.C., USA: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an upgrade to its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, aimed at helping states confirm voter citizenship using only the last four digits of a Social Security number.
This improvement is designed to make the verification process more efficient while enhancing the security and transparency of federal elections.
“USCIS continues to focus on removing obstacles that could compromise the integrity of America’s electoral system,” said Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson. “By giving states a faster and more secure way to validate voter eligibility, we’re reaffirming that participation in U.S. elections is a right reserved for citizens. We encourage federal, state, and local entities to implement the SAVE program,” he added.
The update follows Executive Order 14248, titled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. The revision enables voter registration offices to initiate SAVE verification cases without requiring a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identifier or a complete Social Security number.
According to USCIS, the SAVE Optimization initiative has allowed state voting agencies to carry out more than 46 million voter verification requests, while federal agencies have processed over 110 million queries related to eligibility for public benefits.
In total, the system has completed over 205 million verification checks as of October 2025, compared to 25 million in 2024, marking a significant rise in efficiency and adoption.
Currently, 26 U.S. states are either actively using or in the process of establishing agreements with the SAVE program for voter verification. USCIS is urging the remaining states to adopt similar practices to safeguard election integrity and bolster voter confidence.
The enhancement is part of a larger national effort to ensure that only American citizens participate in federal elections.
However, several advocacy organisations have emphasised that the SAVE system serves solely as a verification mechanism—not as a final eligibility determiner. They have also cautioned states to ensure that unmatched results do not lead to unwarranted voter removals from registration lists.
