With a newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), I, along with 20 other state chief elections officers from across the country, have appealed to Secretary Kristi Noem for much-needed enhancements to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to advance our commitment to uphold safe and secure elections.

Since championing the passage of House Bill 1510 in 2022, election officials in Mississippi have been able to compare the Statewide Election Management system with state and federal databases, including SAVE, to ensure only United States citizens register to vote in our state. Despite having authority to review these systems, limitations within the SAVE program create unique challenges for election officials.

In our recent letter, my colleagues and I suggest multiple improvements for the system addressing data limitations (accessibility and accuracy) and financial shortcomings including:

• Granting the ability to search multiple voters at once
• Allowing states to use SAVE at no cost
• Increasing the quantity of identifying information users may utilize to identify individuals
• Providing clear guidance on how and when state election officials may use the SAVE program
• Notifying state of applicants for naturalization

Through the prioritization of these updates, we will further protect the integrity of state and federal elections, a duty to which I remain fully committed. Should you have any questions, I encourage you to reach out to my office at secretary@sos.ms.gov.

MICHAEL WATSON
Secretary of State
State of Mississippi