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Two states sued for illegal purges. More are coming.
In February 2026, the Campaign Legal Center sued Ohio over SB 293, a law that directs monthly voter purges using outdated citizenship data. In March 2026, voting rights groups sued Texas for purging voters based on the federal SAVE database without verifying citizenship status. Both lawsuits allege violations of the National Voter Registration Act.
The NVRA prohibits systematic voter roll purges within 90 days of a federal election. Ohio’s law orders purges monthly, including inside that protected window. Texas ran its SAVE check against 18 million registered voters and flagged 2,724 as potential noncitizens, but the data is stale and error-prone.
State-by-state breakdown
| State | What happened | Legal status | Risk to voters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | SB 293 signed Dec 2025, monthly purges using citizenship data | Lawsuit filed Feb 2026 by CLC, ACLU, LWV | ~300,000 naturalized citizens at risk |
| Texas | Secretary of State cross-referenced SAVE database | Lawsuit filed Mar 2026 | 2,724 flagged; naturalized citizens most affected |
| Georgia | DOJ suing Fulton County for voter records | Federal data collection underway | Unclear; DOJ collecting voter data ahead of 2026/2028 |
| North Carolina | Inactive voter records removed | State officials say routine maintenance | Legitimate voters who skipped recent elections |
The SAVE database problem
The federal SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) system was designed to verify immigration status for benefit applications, not voter registration. A 2025 Brennan Center report found it contains incomplete information and creates high risk of false matches.
The core flaw: SAVE records a person’s immigration status at a point in time. Someone who entered the country as a noncitizen and later naturalized may still appear as a noncitizen in the database. Texas used the SAVE system without any follow-up verification, meaning naturalized citizens were flagged based on years-old records.
“States are using a broken database to determine who gets to vote. This is voter suppression with a data veneer.”
That’s from the Campaign Legal Center’s analysis of pre-midterm purge efforts.
The legislative push behind purges
Across the country, 37 bills introduced in 2025 would either require passports or birth certificates to register or expand voter purges in ways likely to remove eligible voters. The Brennan Center documented the pattern: states are layering new purge mechanisms on top of existing list maintenance, creating multiple opportunities for eligible voters to be removed.
Democrats in Congress introduced legislation to halt mass purges, but it has no path in the current House.
How to protect your registration
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Check your registration today. Visit vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote and confirm your name, address, and party affiliation are current. Do this every month until election day.
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Set a calendar reminder for your state’s registration deadline. If you are purged, you need time to re-register. Most states require registration 15-30 days before an election.
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Keep proof of citizenship accessible. If you are a naturalized citizen, keep your naturalization certificate or U.S. passport where you can access it quickly. You may need it to challenge a removal.
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Report problems immediately. If you receive a notice that your registration has been canceled, contact the ACLU Voter Protection Hotline or your county election office. Do not wait.
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Demand your representatives oppose purge legislation. Use Resist Bot to tell your state legislators that purges based on stale data disenfranchise citizens.
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Vote in every election. Infrequent voters are the first targets for removal under “use it or lose it” purge laws. Eight states now purge voters based solely on infrequent voting.
Read more on the Voting and Elections hub.