Justice Department requests Washington to withhold ballots of suspected non-citizen voters
The U.S. Justice Department asked Washington state to set aside ballots from more than 400 individuals it says may be ineligible to vote, citing concerns over voter registration status ahead of the November midterm elections.
The Justice Department sent a letter to Washington secretary of state Steve Hobbs asking the state to hold any mail ballots that might be cast by more than 400 people the department believes are registered without U.S. citizenship. The request, made less than two weeks after a similar demand in California, seeks to verify the eligibility of the voters before the November midterm elections.
In the letter, the department said it had identified about 1,500 votes cast by the 400-plus individuals in prior elections and requested that Washington set aside any ballots they may submit this cycle until eligibility can be confirmed. Washington has over 5 million registered voters and issues mail ballots to all of them.
"Because of limitations the state has placed on our investigation, we’ve only been able to uncover a fraction of the total number," acting U.S. attorney Charles Neil Floyd said at a news conference, adding that the 405 voters identified so far represent "the tip of the iceberg."
"The timing of this request – one week before the general election – is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results," Hobbs said, noting that the data included the last time each person voted, with one record dating back to 1994.
The department indicated it would provide additional personal information, such as addresses and partial Social Security numbers, to aid the state’s review. It also warned that some individuals on the list may have become naturalized citizens since the initial identification.
Washington officials highlighted ongoing concerns about changes to U.S. Postal Service operations that have affected mail-in voting. The Justice Department’s request follows similar actions in California and Alaska, where federal lawsuits seek to delay certification of results or set aside ballots from thousands of suspected non-citizen voters.
In California, a federal appellate panel reviewed the department’s request and returned it to a lower court without ruling on the expedited timeline. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state will "fight back against the administration’s unlawful overreach at every turn," while Governor Gavin Newsom characterized the effort as an assault on democracy.
The Justice Department said it expects to send Washington an updated list of suspected non-citizen voters before Election Day and reiterated that non-citizen voting is exceptionally rare.