DOJ Flags 400 Alleged Noncitizens on Washington Voter Rolls

Federal prosecutors have asked Washington state to set aside ballots from more than 400 registered voters. The Justice Department believes these individuals are not U.S. citizens and should not have voted. Officials delivered a list of more than 400 names to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs on Monday, October 26. The request arrives just one week before the November 3 midterm elections. Many of those named hold green cards, which grant legal residency but not voting rights.

Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd and Pete Serrano of the Eastern District jointly signed the letter. They want ballots from the listed individuals separated until citizenship status can be confirmed. Prosecutors also set a noon Wednesday deadline for the state to put that process in place. Otherwise, the department warned, it would ask a federal court for emergency relief. That deadline falls on 28 October, so the dispute could reach a courtroom very quickly.

How Federal Investigators Built Their List of Suspected Voters

Investigators began by reviewing federal immigration records, which showed that some people who applied for benefits had also voted. The state had refused to hand over its unredacted voter file earlier. As a result, Homeland Security compared a public voter list with government data. Prosecutors then checked whether the flagged people had actually returned ballots in Washington elections.

Floyd argues that these findings are broader in scope. His office counts roughly 1,500 ballots cast by the group, and some individuals voted as many as 27 times. He also recalls cases stretching back to the mid-1980s. In addition, he believes the true total may reach the thousands, though that figure is only an estimate. Prosecutors say some green card holders were registered through the Motor Voter program without knowing it, then assumed their mailed ballots were valid. Even so, a false citizenship claim on a registration form or naturalization application is a felony carrying up to five years in prison.

Hobbs Pushes Back as Courts Weigh a Wider Federal Push

Hobbs has refused to treat the list as settled fact. His office noted that some records show a last vote in the 1990s, including one from 1994. Since then, more than 113 million ballots have been cast in the state. The office also warns that the federal matching method can wrongly flag naturalized citizens, putting their voting rights at risk. Moreover, the Justice Department itself concedes that some listed people may have since become citizens, without saying how many. Hobbs has called the timing an attempt to cast unfounded suspicion on the results, and he says he will answer only requests that follow due process.

Ultimately, the Washington standoff shows how a disputed federal list can collide with state authority just days before a national vote. It follows a similar demand in California, where an appeals court has already declined to block ballot counting. Independent reviews have long found that noncitizen voting is rare, yet the allegations here are specific and serious. The answer will rest on whether the names hold up under scrutiny, and whether courts accept such late-stage demands. With a tight congressional race in southwest Washington among the contests that could decide House control, the stakes extend well beyond one state.

Web Resources on DOJ Flags 400 Noncitizen Washington Voters

1. Fox News : Federal officials identify 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state, ‘Tip of the iceberg’.
2. CBS News : Justice Department asks Washington state to set aside ballots from 400 alleged noncitizens.
3. Reuters : US Justice Dept asks Washington state not to count ballots from possible noncitizens.
4. U.S. Attorney’s Office : Federal data shows hundreds of non-citizens registered to vote in Washington.