Florida is taking action to ensure that its voter rolls are accurate. This past week, Florida filed a lawsuit after requesting information from the federal government regarding the citizenship status of registered voters and receiving a firm “no” from federal agencies.

Back in September, Florida requested information to verify the citizenship status of certain registered voters they suspected might not be U.S. citizens from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But surprise, surprise—the request was denied.

A month later, a group of attorneys general, including Florida’s Ashley Moody, pushed DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to share the information they asked for. Around the same time, a few states started removing thousands of non-citizens from their voter rolls.

On October 16, Florida’s AG Ashley Moody took things to the next level by filing a lawsuit against Mayorkas and DHS in the Northern District of Florida. The lawsuit claims the federal government is ignoring its responsibility to help Florida verify voter eligibility. Moody said the situation is due to the “illegal border crossers flooding into the country” under the current administration. Moody stated that Florida must ensure only American citizens are voting.

Moody believes this lawsuit is important to prevent non-citizens from influencing the election process. She makes it clear that voting is a right for American citizens only, not for illegal immigrants or others who aren’t citizens.

The lawsuit is a 16-page legal romp through federal and state laws about maintaining accurate voter registration records. The lawsuit highlights the federal government’s duty to ensure fair elections. It accuses the federal government of failing to meet its obligations by stating: “Due to the federal government’s failure to meet these obligations, which undermines Florida’s ability to uphold the integrity of its elections, Florida is filing this lawsuit.”

The Department of Homeland Security has a division called USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), which runs a program called SAVE. SAVE is short for Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. Think of SAVE as a super handy computer system that helps states confirm whether people are eligible to vote or do other important things by checking their legal status in the country. It’s a useful tool for sorting out issues, but it’s not without its flaws.

Before filing the lawsuit, Florida identified some registered voters who might not be citizens, but they couldn’t confirm their statuses using the SAVE program due to its limitations. The problem with SAVE is that the program has trouble verifying immigration status using certain common identifiers, like Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers. So, when Florida reached out to USCIS for help checking these individuals’ citizenship, they were turned down again.

Florida lays out its demands pretty clearly. They want the court to order the DHS to provide the information they’re asking for and to point out that DHS is breaking several federal laws. It’s a big ask, but Florida is determined to make sure their voter rolls are accurate and protect the integrity of their elections.

“Voting is a right granted to American citizens – not illegal immigrants or other non-citizens,” Moody said. The lawsuit follows more than a decade of litigation and interactions with DHS on the issue. Other states have also asked the DHS for similar information, but Florida is the first state to have taken legal action. It is possible that other states, like Texas, may also follow in Florida’s footsteps. Meanwhile, Florida is making it clear: don’t vote if you are not legally eligible.