Former DHS Official Warns Trump’s SAVE System Could Centralize Voter Data for Hackers
Miles Taylor, former DHS chief of staff, cautioned that the Trump administration’s plan to expand the immigration-verification tool SAVE into a national voter-eligibility database could give foreign hackers a single point of attack on U.S. elections.
Former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor used his Substack platform to criticize the Trump administration’s proposal to turn the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program into a nationwide voter-eligibility database. SAVE, which currently assists USCIS in preventing benefits fraud and is funded by immigration fees, operates with minimal congressional oversight, according to Taylor.
He highlighted cases in Missouri and Texas where the system mistakenly labeled lawful citizens as non-citizens, leading to temporary voting bans that were later reversed. Taylor contended that a centralized federal database would act as a “master switch,” allowing a foreign hacker or hacktivist group to block large numbers of voters with a single breach, unlike today’s fragmented state and county systems that limit the scope of attacks.
He referenced the Senate Intelligence Committee’s findings on Russian attempts to infiltrate state voter databases, noting the lack of a single target prevented broader manipulation. Taylor concluded that handing election control to a small DHS office undermines public trust and endangers election security.
Why it matters
Centralizing voter eligibility could expose U.S. elections to large-scale hacking and disenfranchisement.
How this story developed
- Sep 3 Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift block on USPS mail-ballot rule
- Sep 3 The Missouri Supreme Court halted the implementation of a new Republican-drawn congressional map, requiring a November referendum before it can take effect.
- Sep 4 The administration filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court.
- Sep 4 The court’s decision upheld the citizen‑initiated referendum and blocked the new map.
- Sep 5 Judge extended the preliminary injunction blocking the rule.
- Sep 5 Judge Talwani issued a new order on Friday extending the injunction.
- Sep 6 Administration filed a third petition to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the injunction.
- Sep 8 Missouri Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling requiring a statewide referendum before the GOP‑crafted map can be used.
- Sep 9 Supreme Court issued a 6‑3 stay of the district‑court injunction.
- Sep 10 Federal judge rejected Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' request to block the contempt proceeding.
- Sep 10 First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administration’s request to lift the injunction, leaving the rule blocked through the November elections.
- Sep 11 U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Trump-backed congressional map, requiring use of the 2022 districts.
- Sep 14 A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the USPS mail‑ballot rule.
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