The US Supreme Court has lifted restrictions on the Trump administration’s use of a federal database containing citizenship information to screen for alleged non-citizen voting.
Critics warn the ruling could result in eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls.
The decision marks a victory for the administration as it seeks to address allegations of non-citizen voting.
The ruling was along ideological lines, with three liberal-leaning justices dissenting and six conservative justices supporting the move. In June, a federal judge had ruled the system illegal and a violation of privacy rights.
The Department of Homeland Security program, known as Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE), allows officials to verify voter eligibility against citizenship records.
The database was created in 1986 to verify citizenship or immigration status for benefit applicants, but was expanded last year to allow bulk searches using social security numbers.
In June, US District Judge Sparkle L. Soonnan, a Biden appointee, ruled that the revamped system showed the federal government “knowingly trampled on the privacy rights” of citizens “in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.”
A federal appeals court upheld her ruling before the Supreme Court overturned it on Friday.