Indiana’s voter rolls can now be compared to a federal database to verify citizenship following an interagency agreement. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales announced Monday that his office had struck a deal with the federal government to scrutinize Indiana’s voter rolls to identify noncitizens living in the Hoosier State.

The agreement with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, allows the state to access a database to verify citizenship of individuals on the state’s voter rolls.

In the past, opponents have argued that the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, wasn’t designed for checking massive datasets, but rather for one-by-one verification. Using it at a large scale could accidentally flag some naturalized citizens, they worry.

Morales, a naturalized citizen born in Guatemala, celebrated the move in a statement.

“As someone who knows firsthand what it means to earn U.S. citizenship, I deeply value the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship — especially the right to vote. This agreement is another step in safeguarding the rights of every eligible Hoosier voter and reflects our commitment to protecting the integrity of our elections,” he said.

The office’s release said that voters registered without having their citizenship confirmed by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be notified by mail and have the opportunity to confirm their citizenship status, as outlined by a 2024 bill that ultimately became law.

The new access follows a joint lawsuit filed by Morales and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who sued to access the SAVE data to aide voter verification efforts in April. In October 2024, weeks before the November presidential and gubernatorial election, the duo asked the federal government to let them use SAVE to scrutinize over 585,000 registered voters, or 12% of all Hoosiers on Indiana’s voter rolls.

The review never occurred.

“Our Constitution and laws are clear — only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in our elections. This is not about politics. It’s about protecting the sanctity of the ballot and ensuring Hoosiers can trust that their votes are counted and their elections are secure,” Morales continued.