Washington officials push back on DOJ’s sweeping non-citizen voting claims
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State leaders in Washington say isolated instances of non-citizens registering to vote are rare, while the Justice Department alleges hundreds of suspected violations in a dispute that highlights the tension between state safeguards and federal overreach.
State officials in Washington say that cases of non-citizens registering to vote are limited and not a major problem. Auditor Mary Hall, who has worked in Thurston County for three decades, said she has never encountered a non-citizen voter and noted that the state maintains detailed voter registration records and requires voters to attest to U.S. citizenship.
The Justice Department, however, announced that it has identified 405 instances of suspected non-citizen voting in the state and asked Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to set aside the ballots for further review. Hobbs declined, describing the request as a “dumpster fire disguised as a legal document.” He reiterated that while the state does not require proof of citizenship at registration, it lacks a system to verify citizenship status.
Immigration attorney Len Saunders, who practices in Blaine, said he has recently encountered at least 15 cases where non-citizens were mistakenly registered and voted, often after obtaining a driver’s license. He argued that requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration could prevent such errors and called for coordination between state and federal authorities to address the issue.
Voting without citizenship can result in deportation, loss of naturalization eligibility, and criminal charges, according to federal law.