Officials from the Trump administration asked Washington state to sequester ballots cast by more than 400 people the Justice Department claims are noncitizens and not legally registered to vote.
At a news conference on Monday, Oct. 26, Acting U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Neil Floyd Floyd announced the request and described the administration's findings as "only the tip of the iceberg" in a press release. He stated that the department would continue to investigate. Of the more than 400 people identified as illegally registered voters, many are lawful permanent residents of the United States or green card holders, according to the department. These residents have legal immigration status in the country but are not citizens and cannot vote.
The status of more than 400 alleged noncitizen voters in Washington's is the administration's latest attempt to act on an issue proven by data to be rare.
DOJ officials plan to provide a list of individuals to the Secretary of State's office and ask that ballots from these voters be set aside to confirm citizenship and voting eligibility.
"We are carefully reviewing the request and assessing the information sought to ensure that our response complies with applicable state and federal laws," Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said, confirming in an Oct. 26 press release that the state office received the DOJ request for voter information. "We take our responsibility to protect voter information seriously and will only respond to requests that follow due process."
More than one million voters have submitted their ballots in Washington as of Oct. 27. There are more than 5 million registered voters in the state.
DOJ alleges illegal voting
More than 400 voters identified by the Justice Department as allegedly voting without citizenship are the subject of a request for state voter information.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington said that some green card holders have been registered "against their knowledge" through the Washington Motor Voter Program, receiving a ballot in the mail and presuming they are registered to vote.
"Our purpose in sharing this data with the Secretary of State is to protect the sanctity of each citizen’s vote,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano said in a statement. “Our goal in sharing this information with the State of Washington is to ensure that a Washington citizens’ votes are protected in this and future elections.”
Earlier this year, officials from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division wrote to the Secretary of State's office warning of "knowingly retaining noncitizens" on state voter lists, according to copies sent to multiple states and reviewed by the New York Times.
"The letter appears to be another instance in a troubling pattern of efforts to intimidate election officials and interfere with states’ constitutionally protected election administration," Hobbs wrote in response.
Timing of request raises concern, state officials say
The Justice Department's request comes one week before Washington's general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Secretary of State's office said in a press release that federal law limits states' abilities to remove voters within 90 days of a federal election.
"The timing of this request — one week before the General Election — is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results. At the same time, thousands of voters were recently disenfranchised in our August Primary due to delayed postmarks," Hobbs said.
The Secretary of State's office noted that of the more than 400 voters noted in the Department's letter, one is from 1994. Since then more than 113.5 million primary and general election ballots have been cast in Washington, according to the press release.
The department filed a lawsuit against Washington to obtain the state's voter rolls but the case was dismissed last month by a federal judge in Seattle. The administration has sued a number of states for access to their vote rolls but a judge has not yet ruled in their favor.
According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department demanded access to addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
"The system the DOJ uses frequently flags legitimate U.S. citizens as noncitizens, jeopardizing their legal right to vote. It also exposes voters’ private data to a 10-year retention period, which is a serious privacy risk," according to Hobbs.
Federal officials made a similar request in California recently, asking the state to set aside 20,000 ballots from voters similarly thought to be noncitizens.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown leads an ongoing effort by Washington and more than 20 other states to oppose the administration's lawsuit against California.
“This is more than a frivolous lawsuit against one state – it is part of the President’s inquisition against American democracy,” Brown said in a Oct. 22 news release. “Rather than assist states with legitimate security threats, this administration has put the weight of the federal government behind the same lies that drove the violent riots of January 6, 2021.”
Who can vote in Washington state?
Only U.S. citizens can vote in Washington, according to the Secretary of State. Voters must be at least 18 years old, a state resident and cannot vote if prohibited via court order, survey a felony conviction sentence or currently incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony conviction.
Zachary Fletcher is a trending news reporter with USA TODAY Network's Washington state team. Keep up with him on X (@zdfletch), BlueSky (@zfletcher.bsky.social) or reach him at zfletcher@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Justice Department asks Washington to set aside 400 ballots from alleged noncitizens
