A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot use Social Security data to purge voter rolls, citing federal privacy protections. The decision is a major setback for President Donald Trump’s effort to find foreigners on state voter lists.

Background

The case centered on the federal data program known as SAVE, which has long been used by the government to verify citizenship for public benefits. The Trump administration expanded the program to include Social Security data and other agency sources, which the judge found to be a violation of federal privacy protections.

The judge’s ruling halts the use of the expanded data system, which had been encouraged by the administration and was being used to check voter rolls for noncitizens. The decision is a victory for voter advocacy organizations and a privacy group that challenged the administration’s plan.

The Trump administration had argued that the plan was necessary to ensure the integrity of the voting process, but critics argued that it would wrongly ensnare citizens and risk the disenfranchisement of eligible voters.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.