Voter Registration and Voter List Maintenance Fact Sheet

Background

Federal law prohibits non-U.S. citizens from voting in federal elections.  While state and local governments are responsible for voter registration, they can verify an individual’s immigration status and naturalized/acquired U.S. citizenship using U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) SAVE program. SAVE does not determine an individual’s eligibility for any specific benefit or license.

By inputting an individual’s DHS-issued immigration identifier, a participating agency can use SAVE to determine whether that person obtained U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process, or for certain other individuals born abroad, whether USCIS has information confirming their U.S. citizenship.  SAVE is unable to verify information on citizens born in the United States.

In order to use SAVE to determine voter citizenship status, state election officials must complete a SAVE Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with USCIS that identifies the legal authorities, processes, and requirements for verification of naturalized and acquired U.S. citizenship for voter registration, voter list maintenance, or both. The SAVE MOA is entered into with the state’s secretary of state or other voting administrator but can be structured for SAVE use by county and other local voting administrators.

What You Should Know

• SAVE verifies naturalized and acquired U.S. citizenship only if found in DHS records. SAVE verifies U.S. citizenship only for citizens who have completed the naturalization process or who have acquired U.S. citizenship and applied for and received a Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS or a predecessor agency. If an individual with acquired citizenship status (for example, a foreign-born child of U.S. citizens) has not applied for a Certificate of Citizenship SAVE may not be able to confirm that individual’s U.S. citizenship.^[2]
• SAVE does not verify U.S. born citizens under any circumstances. SAVE does not access databases that contain U.S.-born citizen information (for example, birth certificate databases).
• SAVE only verifies DHS-issued immigration identifiers. SAVE searches federal immigration databases using identifiers input by the user agency from an applicant’s immigration or citizenship documents, including A-Number/USCIS Number and Naturalization/Citizenship Certificate Number. State voting officials may be able to acquire DHS-issued immigration identifiers like A-Numbers from the records maintained by state driver’s licensing authorities. SAVE cannot verify an individual’s naturalized or acquired citizenship status using a Social Security Number, driver’s license number, U.S. passport number, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or other non-DHS documentation. SAVE also cannot verify U.S. citizenship using only the registrant’s name and date of birth.
• Users must institute additional verification for any SAVE response other than a naturalized or acquired citizen response. For purposes of voter registration or voter list maintenance, SAVE requires user agencies to institute additional (manual) verification on any response that does not indicate the individual is a U.S. citizen. User agencies are also required to contact the applicant or registered voter to obtain proof of citizenship in accordance with federal and state law before making an adverse determination based in whole or in part on a response.
• Users must complete required training. All SAVE users must complete required training, review the SAVE Program Guide, view the latest version of SAVE web tutorial(s) and maintain a working knowledge of requirements contained in the SAVE MOA.
• Using SAVE has a cost. User agencies must agree to pay transaction charges. See the transaction charges webpage for current rates.

How State Agencies Use SAVE to Verify Naturalized and Acquired Citizenship

• User agencies are required to provide written notice to applicants and registered voters that their citizenship may be verified against federal immigration records.
• The user agency enters applicant or registered voter information into SAVE and submits an electronic initial verification request. The information includes the applicant or registered voter’s: first and last name, date of birth, and one or more citizenship or immigration enumerators (for example, A-number/USCIS Number, Certificate of Naturalization Number, or Certificate of Citizenship Number).
• SAVE usually provides an automated response within seconds (i.e., most recent class of admission, citizenship indicator, and a narrative description).
• If the SAVE response is other than U.S. citizen, or if the applicant or registered voter requests additional verification, user agencies must institute additional (manual) verification. User agencies should include a copy of the individual’s immigration document with the additional verification request.
• If SAVE requests additional documents, the user agency must request the applicant or registered voter’s proof of citizenship or other immigration documentation and provide an electronic copy to SAVE.
• The agency must provide an applicant or registered voter who is not verified as a U.S. citizen the opportunity to appeal

[1] For purposes of this Fact Sheet, “Naturalized citizenship” refers to U.S. citizenship granted to a noncitizen who met the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act, upon application of the noncitizen for naturalization.

[2] For purposes of this Fact Sheet, “Acquired citizenship” refers to U.S. citizenship conveyed to children through the naturalization of parents or, under certain circumstances, at birth to foreign-born children of U.S. citizens, provided certain conditions are met. If the U.S. Department of State (DOS) provided USCIS with a record of the passport citizenship adjudication and USCIS updated the individual’s record, SAVE may be able to find the citizenship record with the individual’s Alien number (A-Number)/ USCIS number.