Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab received praise from President Donald Trump for making Kansas one of the first states to commit to use of a federal database to confirm U.S. citizenship of people registered to vote.
Schwab, who is a Republican candidate for governor in 2026, had previously lauded the president for taking steps to help states screen voter registration lists through sharing of federal data. As secretary of state, Schwab is Kansas' top election official.
In March, Trump signed an executive order making the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program available to states for free. SAVE exists as an online platform enabling local, state and federal governments to electronically check a federal database for immigration and citizenship status of applicants for public benefits.
"You were one of the first leaders to step up and protect the integrity of our elections by using the SAVE system," Trump said in a letter sent to Schwab on Oct. 8 and shared publicly several days ago by Schwab. "As you know, safeguarding our elections is a dual responsibility of the states and federal government. This vital mission requires our partnership to be based on mutual trust and a shared commitment to our constitutional responsibilities."
Trump said in correspondence to Schwab the "right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted, without illegal dilution, is a prerequisite for our government to truly be representative."
The president said "many states" were failing to enforce basic and necessary election laws. The executive order, and wider reliance on SAVE, could be useful to states working to "reverse this dereliction," Trump's letter said.
Trump has claimed without evidence President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election due to voting misconduct.
In July, Schwab attended a White House meeting with other state elections officers to discuss sharing of federal data. He said at that time it could be beneficial if Kansas could have routine access to the Social Security Administration's death index and data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to identify individuals who were deceased or noncitizens and ineligible to vote.
Schwab, who has repeatedly declared Kansas elections fair and accurate, said reliance on up-to-date databases could improve voter confidence in the state's election system.
This story was originally published by the Kansas Reflector.
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