Why some U.S. citizens are being kicked off voting rolls

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR

Episode: Why some U.S. citizens are being kicked off voting rolls
Date: December 13, 2025
Host: Myles Parks (with reporting by Jude Joffe-Block)
Duration: ~15 minutes

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Overview

This episode explores how new efforts to weed out non-citizen voters, especially through the use of a federal database called SAVE, are also causing legitimate U.S. citizens to lose their right to vote. Host Myles Parks and NPR reporter Jude Joffe-Block discuss the stories uncovered in their reporting, the controversy and confusion driven by state and federal data-matching, concerns about due process and data privacy, and the political implications of these aggressive voter roll purges.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Case of Anthony Nell: A Citizen "Flagged"

[00:00-02:09]

• Anthony Nell’s story is the episode’s anchor: a long-time Dallas-area voter and passport holder, he received a letter questioning his citizenship and requiring proof to remain a registered voter.
  • Anthony Nell: "At first I was confused because I have a passport. I've been voting for 10 years. Why is this happening now?" [00:17]
• Like Nell, 2,700 people were flagged in Texas by running voter rolls through SAVE — a system historically reserved for determining immigrant eligibility for benefits, now adapted to cross-check citizenship status.
• Nell’s background as a naturalized citizen (gained as a child when his parents were naturalized) illustrates a flaw: SAVE cannot reliably confirm the status of many eligible voters.
• Nell was uncomfortable uploading sensitive documents online and missed the required deadline; when he checked, he found himself removed from the rolls:
  • Anthony Nell: "I do not pop up. I am no longer registered to vote." [02:06]

2. The Data System: SAVE’s New Role and Risks

[02:09-05:27, 08:29-09:49]

• SAVE’s Expansion: Under the Trump administration, SAVE has been revamped—now linked to Social Security data and able to check most Americans for citizenship status, with plans to incorporate driver’s license data as well.
  • Jude Joffe-Block: "[SAVE] is really essentially trying to be a citizenship lookup tool, which we've never had before...never had this kind of data consolidated." [08:49]
• Critics worry about the lack of due process and transparency:
  • Only one letter may be sent; there’s no confirmation upon deregistration and no guarantee recipients even received these letters.
    • Anthony Nell: "There's no confirmation that someone received the letter. And so there are, you know, probably tons of people out there that have no idea that they're no longer registered to vote." [05:13]
  • The process is inconsistent across states, and the next steps after flagging are unclear.

3. Reporting on Voters Unaware of Their Status

[06:10-08:29]

• Joffe-Block explains her experiences telling legitimate voters in Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee—sometimes for the first time—that they’d been tagged as potential non-citizens.
  • Building trust is delicate: strangers are asked to discuss citizenship status and, at times, display sensitive documents via video call.
    • Jude Joffe-Block: "You're basically talking to people about something where they don't know how their information has been used and might be very wary about these efforts and feel in some ways like their privacy is invaded." [07:35]
• She describes confusion felt by citizens, including those born in the U.S., about how and why this happened.

4. Actual Results vs. Narrative on Noncitizen Voting

[09:49-11:35]

• States using SAVE report minute numbers of confirmed non-citizen voters; for example, Louisiana’s review (3 million voters checked) identified just 79 possible non-citizen ballots—over four decades.
  • Jude Joffe-Block: "So this is a tiny percentage of their registered voters. But I don't think that means that this narrative is going anywhere." [10:06]
• Despite little evidence, some political figures continue amplifying the narrative of widespread non-citizen voting:
  • Harmeet Dhillon (Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights): "I think it could be a six figure number when you spread out over the whole country, could be even higher than that." [10:48]
  • She further implies small numbers could sway elections:
    • Harmeet Dhillon: "A few hundred votes here or there could absolutely turn the outcome of a national election." [11:03]
• Joffe-Block highlights confusion caused by conflating:
  • Potential vs. confirmed noncitizens
  • Registration by noncitizens vs. actual voting by noncitizens

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anthony Nell (on receiving the notice): “My first thought was something is going on in terms of wanting to adjust and change who is registered to vote.” [00:17]
• Jude Joffe-Block (on voter protections): “Are people getting enough due process to be able to stay on the rolls?” [05:27]
• Jude Joffe-Block (about public confusion): “…even talking about this issue can lead to a lot of confusion.” [11:15]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:00] Start; Anthony Nell’s story
• [02:09] Broader concerns about SAVE and data privacy
• [04:54] Jude Joffe-Block on voter outreach and process flaws
• [06:10] Reporting on citizens surprised they were removed or flagged
• [08:49] How the SAVE database has changed
• [10:06] Evidence for claims about noncitizen voting (very low incidence)
• [10:48] Clip from Harmeet Dhillon on potential numbers
• [11:15] Clarifying confusion between flagged, registered, and actual noncitizen votes

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Tone & Style

The tone is factual, empathetic, and probing—combining careful reporting with firsthand accounts from affected voters and those studying the system’s evolution. The episode is direct but nuanced, focusing on the mechanics and personal impacts rather than sensationalism.

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Takeaways

• Expanding federal data tools to check citizenship is removing eligible voters.
• Communication is inconsistent and due process often lacking.
• Evidence for widespread noncitizen voting is scant, but the political narrative persists.
• These efforts risk undermining confidence in the voting system and disenfranchising citizens.

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For more details, listen to the full episode from NPR.

Transcript

[Myles Parks]

In recent months, nearly 50 million Americans have had their names run through a federal data system that's now being used to try to weed out non citizen voters. But as Republican states run their voter rolls through it, the system is also flagging Americans who do have the right to vote, like Anthony Nell, who lives near Dallas, Texas.

[Anthony Nell]

At first I was confused because I have a passport. I've been voting for 10 years. Why is this happening now? My first thought was something is going on in terms of wanting to adjust and change who is registered to vote.

[Myles Parks]

Nell is one of 2,700 people the Texas Secretary of State's office identified as, quote, potential non citizens that are on Texas voter rolls. The state made this list by running every registered voter through the SAVE Data system, which for decades was a federal lookup tool only used to check if immigrants were eligible for benefits. Earlier this summer, the Trump administration linked it to Social Security Administration data and now claims that SAVE is the first tool that can look up the citizenship of almost every American. NPR reporter Jude Joffe Block and I have been reporting on SAVE for months. And recently Jude has been tracking how American citizens like Nell are being flagged.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

In Anthony Nell's case, you know, he goes to his mailbox, he gets a.

[Anthony Nell]

Letter as the voter registrar for Denton County. I am writing to notify you of important information regarding your voter registration.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

It's asking him to prove his citizenship.

[Anthony Nell]

We have received information from the Texas Secretary of State reflecting that you might not be a United States citizen.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

And he's been a really active voter up until this point. And so he's pretty shocked by this.

[Myles Parks]

It turns out that the SAVE system can't identify everyone who's been naturalized. These are Americans like Nell who gained citizenship as children when their parents became citizens.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

So he was flagged and got this notice telling him if he wanted to stay on the voter rolls, he had to come come and prove his citizenship by showing his passport.

[Myles Parks]

He was uncomfortable with sharing those sort of sensitive documents online, so he missed the deadline to prove his voter eligibility. He recently logged on to check his registration status.

[Anthony Nell]

I do not pop up. I am no longer registered to vote.

[Myles Parks]

Jude says this shouldn't be a surprise.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

This has been a concern that this program would lead to eligible citizens being removed from the voter rolls. It's also raising a lot of questions about how Americans personal data is being used by the Trump administration.

[Myles Parks]

Consider this. The Trump administration is collecting and consolidating data in ways that have never been done before by the federal government. How is that impacting US Citizens. From npr, I'm Miles Parks.

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[Myles Parks]

It's Consider this from NPR NPR reporter Jude Joffe Block has been reporting on the use of save, a federal database that's now being deployed in red states, to try to find the few non citizens that are on voter rolls. When we sat down for this week's Reporter's Notebook, I began by asking her how one eligible American voter, Anthony Nell, responded to finding out that he was struck from his county voter rules in Texas.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

He was kind of surprised, disturbed, confused, frustrated. I think he was also surprised that it had happened with just one letter of outreach. And so under Texas code, you know, if, if somebody doesn't respond to this notice within 30 days, their registration is canceled.

[Anthony Nell]

They didn't say your 30 days are up, you are no longer registered. There's no confirmation that someone received the letter. And so there are, you know, probably tons of people out there that have no idea that they're no longer registered to vote.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

The Trump administration is encouraging States to use this save system and run all their voters through. But then there's some gray area about what happens next. It flags potential noncitizens and then there's this extra step where the state is supposed to do additional verification. And what that looks like is a little unclear. So in Nell's case, it was getting a single letter in the mail that he had to respond to to stay on the rolls. You know, there's questions, what if people don't get that letter? Are people getting enough due process to be able to stay on the rolls?

[Interviewer/Host]

This is not the first time you've reported a story like this about either somebody being removed from voter reg or having been incorrectly tagged by the government in one of these efforts.

[Myles Parks]

What are those moments like?

[Interviewer/Host]

I guess as you're talking to people and in some cases I think even.

[Myles Parks]

Telling them for the first time that.

[Interviewer/Host]

They have been picked up on one of these lists.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

So I've done some reporting on voters in Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee who were at different phases of getting a notice or had been removed from voter rolls and didn't always know that that had happened. I contacted some voters who I told them you might want to look yourself up. And this is an interesting conversation to have with folks where, you know, I'm asking, you know, are you a U.S. citizen? And they're showing me their passport over Zoom or FaceTime so that we can verify it and talking with them about what it feels like to, to get these notices and, and what they have to do about it. I mean, some of the folks in, you know, Virginia and in Alabama in that reporting, they were born in the US and those weren't necessarily save related, but they were mystified how did I end up getting flagged for this? And that was a big question people had.

[Interviewer/Host]

I mean, is it also a process of building trust? I mean, I have to imagine if some random person just calls you and tells you, I mean, you're on a list, how did those interactions go? Or how do you go about the process of, you know, making it clear that you're legit or that, that you're not, you know, trying to get anybody in trouble or like, I don't know. Do you ever think about even how.

[Myles Parks]

To approach people in this situation more broadly?

[Jude Joffe-Block]

Yeah, it's such a sensitive topic because you're basically talking to people about something where they don't know how their information has been used and the, and might be very wary about these efforts and feel in some ways like their privacy is invaded. And maybe the last Thing they want to do is talk to a stranger about, about that very thing. Right. And then show a sensitive document to that stranger over Zoom or FaceTime. So these are really sensitive conversations. It involves building trust. Because I have reported on this now several times, you know, done a variety of stories about people who've been flagged in citizenship reviews for voter rolls in various states. I'm able to send people those stories so they can kind of understand what we're working on and what our goals are with trying to tell story.

[Myles Parks]

So for them to come up with this list of names of potential non citizens. This is from the federal government giving this to the state. They used this SAVE systems.

[Interviewer/Host]

This is a system that you and I have reported a lot on this year because the Trump administration has put a lot of resources and energy into overhauling it.

[Myles Parks]

But can you explain for people exactly what it is and what the Trump administration has changed?

[Jude Joffe-Block]

Yeah. So it's been in use for over 40 years at this point. It's a federal data system that pings Department of Homeland Security and various immigration related systems. And its original use was to be able to figure out if foreign born people, if immigrants in the country were eligible for certain benefits. Now it went through a huge makeover in the last seven months. The Trump administration has really changed it because what they've done is they've linked it to Social Security Administration data and they've made it so that it supposedly can look up anyone with a Social Security number and identify whether they are a US Citizen or not. And so it's, it's really essentially trying to be a citizenship lookup tool, which we've never had before and never had this kind of data consolidated. They've recently linked it to have US Passport information as well as, and then the plan next is to add driver's license data to this as well.

[Interviewer/Host]

So millions of people have been run through this, this system at this point, a number of states are using it. Now, do we have any sense of what the results say or if does.

[Myles Parks]

Provide any evidence for Trump's claims about noncitizen voting?

[Jude Joffe-Block]

Yeah. Well, this is really interesting because so far the states that have run their entire voter rolls through SAVE and have made those results public. The number of suspected noncitizens who've cast ballots are really pretty low. So Louisiana, for example, ran almost 3 million voters through and identified 79 people that they think are non citizens who cast ballots going back to the 1980s. So this is a tiny percentage of their registered voters. But I don't think that means that this narrative is going anywhere. I mean, we've seen just actually in the last week, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon has been talking about this issue a lot.

[Harmeet Dhillon]

I think it could be a six figure number when you spread out over the whole country, could be even higher than that.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

She recently went on Newsmax and put out a number of what she guessed the number of noncitizens who voted in the US Is.

[Harmeet Dhillon]

And when you think about the margin in the 2020 election and some other elections nationally, a few hundred votes here or there could absolutely turn the outcome of a national election.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

And that kind of brings up an issue which is that when talking about this, there's numbers that get thrown out and there could be potential non citizens which are different than confirmed noncitizens. And there could be noncitizens who are registered to vote, which is different than non citizens who cast a ballot. So often even talking about this issue can lead to a lot of confusion.

[Myles Parks]

That's NPR's Jude Joffy block. Thanks so much for talking with us, Jude.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

Thank you, Miles.

[Myles Parks]

This episode was produced by Leena Muhammad. It was edited by Brett Neely, Ben Swayze and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenig.

[Jude Joffe-Block]

Foreign.

[Myles Parks]

It'S consider this from npr. I'm Myles Parks.

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