Iowa and three other Republican-led states have agreed to help the Department of Homeland Security pursue broader access to state driver's license data through a national law enforcement network as part of efforts to verify that registered voters are U.S. citizens.
The agreement is part of a legal settlement filed Friday between Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and DHS.
The Des Moines Register reported that the settlement requires DHS to continue expanding its citizenship verification system, known as SAVE, which was originally designed to confirm the immigration status of individual applicants for government benefits.
Federal officials recently equipped SAVE to conduct bulk searches of voter records, linking it to other federal data, including Social Security information.
In exchange, the four states have agreed to support DHS as it seeks access to the data.
The network typically allows police agencies to retrieve driver and vehicle records across state lines, and officials have said it could serve as a centralized method for identity checks rather than connecting to 50 individual state databases.
Under the settlement, the participating states may provide DHS with 1,000 randomly selected driver's license records within 90 days as part of a quality review for SAVE.
The agreement also instructs the states to "make best efforts" to help DHS obtain full use of state driver's license files, though the scope of that pledge remains unclear.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, said the arrangement adds a tool for ensuring voter eligibility. In 2024, his office flagged more than 2,100 registrants as potential noncitizens based on past state records, later determining through SAVE that 277 of them were confirmed to lack U.S. citizenship.
Supporters of the expanded system say it strengthens election integrity by giving states more efficient ways to verify voter information.
Critics, including several Democratic state election officials, argue the changes could create an extensive federal database containing sensitive personal information. They also question how the data might be used.
Twelve Democratic secretaries of state filed a joint public comment opposing the SAVE overhaul, saying it could undermine election administration rather than improve it.
DHS and the Department of Justice have also sought unredacted voter rolls from states as part of broader enforcement efforts. Several related DOJ lawsuits are pending.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the expanded verification system will help ensure voting integrity by giving officials faster, more reliable tools to confirm voter eligibility.
He maintains that the program strengthens protections against noncitizen registration and helps maintain accurate voter rolls, preventing those who do not have a legal voice in U.S. elections from slipping into the system.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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