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Sunday, September 27, 2026

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Elections · Sunday, September 27, 2026

Supreme Court stays order that wiped out changes to the SAVE citizenship-check system

The File desk · Sep. 27, 2026, 6:12 a.m. ET

Confirmed2 primary sources

Status

Confirmed (Supreme Court order + opinion, Sept. 25, 2026)
Also Friday, the Supreme Court granted the government’s request to pause a D.C. federal district court order that had wiped out changes to the Department of Homeland Security uses to check citizenship and immigration status, including for voter checks. The stay lasts through the appeal and any timely petition for review. Justices Jackson, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented. The modified program, tied to a March 2025 executive order, lets agencies run bulk checks that pull Social Security records.
Also on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, the Supreme Court granted the government’s request in Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters, docket 26A308.
The order pauses a June 22, 2026 order from a federal district court in Washington, D.C. That order had wiped out changes to , the program the Department of Homeland Security uses to check citizenship and immigration status, including for voter checks.
The stay lasts through the appeal and any timely petition for review.
Justice Jackson dissented, joined by Justice Sotomayor and Justice Kagan.
The modified program is tied to , a March 2025 order. It lets agencies run bulk checks that pull Social Security records.
How we know

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Outcome of the appeal.
  • How states will use bulk SAVE queries in practice.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Docket 26A308, Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters

    Supreme Court of the United States · September 25, 2026

    Application is granted. The June 22, 2026 order is stayed. Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor and Justice Kagan, dissents.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26A308.html

  2. Source 2

    Per curiam opinion and dissent, 26A308

    Supreme Court of the United States · September 25, 2026

    The opinion describes the modified SAVE program, including Social Security records and bulk search, and grants a stay pending appeal and any timely petition for review.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/26a308_pok0.pdf