A federal appeals court panel declined on Friday to reinstate the Department of Homeland Security’s access to a new system designed to allow states to cross-check their voter rolls against federal citizenship and Social Security data. The ruling, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, maintains the tool’s suspension amid ongoing legal disputes over its compliance with privacy protections and federal law.

The three-judge panel, by a 2-1 vote, determined that the government had not sufficiently demonstrated that the program could operate without violating statutes that protect Social Security information. The court’s decision, which is temporary pending a fuller review within 10 days, effectively prevents the Department of Homeland Security from deploying the system ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Robert L. Wilkins, both appointees of former President Barack Obama, formed the majority. They emphasized that the public interest did not support restoring a system the government had failed to prove lawful. In dissent, Judge Gregory G. Katsas, appointed by President Donald Trump, argued that the lower court’s injunction barring the tool’s use should be lifted.

The disputed database was created under President Trump’s executive order granting federal agencies greater authority to participate in election oversight. Homeland Security’s system was intended to streamline verification of voter eligibility by comparing state voter lists to federally maintained citizenship and Social Security records. In parallel efforts, the U.S. Postal Service was directed to implement measures to verify the eligibility of mail-in ballots, though a federal judge in Massachusetts recently blocked those changes.

The roots of the legal challenge trace back to a June ruling by a lower court judge, who found that repurposing a citizenship database to monitor elections violated laws prohibiting disclosure of sensitive federal information. The appeals court majority also noted that the administration had introduced new justifications for using Social Security data only after the lower court’s decision, limiting earlier judicial review.

This case is part of a broader legal context involving several Republican-led states, including Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana, which have separately sought to regain access to the Homeland Security data for voter roll verification. In July, a federal judge in Florida granted officials in those states renewed access to the database, distinguishing that case from the one currently under appeal.

With less than two months remaining before the midterm elections, the Trump administration continues to challenge court rulings blocking these election-related initiatives, seeking to implement new voting restrictions aimed at tightening oversight and preventing illegal voting. The appeals court’s pending complete ruling will address the broader legality of using federal citizenship and Social Security information in state voter eligibility verification efforts.