The Trump administration on Monday urged Washington state to isolate ballots received from over 400 individuals it claims are registered to vote without American citizenship. This action follows a similar demand made in California less than two weeks prior.
Justice Department Demands in Washington
In a letter directed to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, the justice department stated it identified 1,500 votes cast in past elections by more than 400 people. The department requested that the state hold aside any ballots these individuals might cast in the upcoming midterm elections until authorities verify their legal eligibility to vote. Washington has over 5 million registered voters, and the state distributes mail-in ballots to all of them.
Charles Neil Floyd, the acting US attorney in Seattle, stated during a news conference that he believes the 405 identified voters represent only the beginning. Due to state-imposed limitations on their investigation, federal authorities have only uncovered a fraction of the total number, according to Floyd. Much of the list was compiled using recent contacts with suspected noncitizens, as federal officers routinely check if people they interact with are registered to vote. The justice department has also demanded state records including addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial social security numbers.
Hobbs stated he was reviewing the request while noting that the provided data included the last time each person voted, with one instance dating back to 1994. Hobbs criticized the timing of the request, stating it was intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results just one week before the general election. Washington officials also pointed out that alterations in US Postal Service operations have disenfranchised thousands of legitimate voters.
Broad West Coast Legal Challenges
This request marks the third instance this month that the justice department has directly challenged a state while voting is underway. All three targeted states—Washington, California, and Alaska—feature competitive House or Senate races that could influence the balance of power in Congress. Washington’s third congressional district features one of the country’s most competitive midterm races, where Democrats rely on Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez to help retake the House majority.
In California, the justice department filed a lawsuit to compel the state to set aside mail ballots from up to 20,000 suspected noncitizens. Another lawsuit filed in Alaska last week aims to delay vote certification if the Republican incumbent fails to win. A federal appeals panel in California heard rare Sunday arguments questioning the timing, constitutionality, and authority of the federal demand, and subsequently declined to rule on an expedited timeline, returning the matter to a lower court.
Los Angeles County assistant registrar-recorder Monica Flores reported in a court filing that a sample of 200 records from the administration’s list contained canceled registrations, inactive accounts, individuals with no voting history, and voters likely born in the US. California Attorney General Rob Bonta pledged to fight the administration’s overreach, and Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of an assault on democracy.
The justice department informed Washington that it plans to transmit an additional list of suspected noncitizen voters before election day, while acknowledging that some individuals on the list may have naturalized since registering.
