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- calendar_today October 27, 2026
Federal Prosecutors Request Action on Alleged Noncitizen Ballots
Federal prosecutors in Washington state have formally requested that state election officials set aside ballots submitted by more than 400 individuals they believe to be noncitizens. The request comes just days before the upcoming midterm elections, reflecting an expanded push by the Justice Department to scrutinize the accuracy of states' voter rolls and address concerns over potential noncitizen voting.
Background and Scope of the Justice Department's Request
On Monday, Neil Floyd, acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, and Pete Serrano, the top federal prosecutor in eastern Washington, announced that they suspect many of the more than 400 registered voters in question are green-card holders. While these individuals have legal immigration status, they are not U.S. citizens and are prohibited from voting in federal elections. The prosecutors claim that suspected noncitizens have voted in multiple elections, estimating that more than 1,500 illegal ballots have been cast by these individuals.
"This is not the full number of noncitizens who have been voting in Washington," Floyd stated. "This is only the tip of the iceberg." The prosecutors provided a list of 405 people to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, requesting that any ballots submitted by them be separated until their citizenship status can be confirmed through citizenship verification.
Deadlines and Justice Department Actions
In an official letter dated Monday, Floyd and Serrano noted that some individuals identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as noncitizens had participated in elections as recently as the August primaries. Some have reportedly been voting in the state for more than a decade, with records showing more than two dozen votes cast by a single individual.
DHS is expected to provide a second list of suspected noncitizens imminently, according to the prosecutors, which will also be shared with Washington elections officials. The Justice Department has given Secretary Hobbs 48 hours—until Wednesday—to review the list and determine each individual’s citizenship. The request includes instructions for election officials to refrain from tabulating any ballots from those on the list until confirmation can be made. Failure to implement these measures, the letter warns, could prompt the Justice Department to seek emergency relief.
Secretary of State’s Response and Concerns
Secretary Steve Hobbs acknowledged receipt of the Justice Department's correspondence, but raised questions about the accuracy of the list provided. According to Hobbs' office, some records pertain to individuals whose last recorded vote was in the 1990s, including one person last seen voting in 1994—despite more than 113 million primary and general election ballots cast in the time since.
"We take our responsibility to protect voter information seriously and will only respond to requests that follow due process. We saw what happened in California and don't want Washingtonians to be harassed," Hobbs said. He further described the Justice Department's timing—less than one week before the November 3 election—as intended to "cast unfounded suspicion on the results."
Legal Disputes Over Voter Rolls and Ongoing Lawsuits
This dispute follows the Justice Department’s previous effort to obtain Washington's unredacted voter registration list last year. After Secretary Hobbs declined to release the list—including voters' names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers—the Trump administration sued the state. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last month.
The Trump administration has pursued similar efforts against 30 states and the District of Columbia, with 27 lawsuits already dismissed and three still pending. In Washington's case, Floyd explained that, without access to unredacted voter rolls, the Department of Homeland Security used publicly available data and matched it against government records to identify suspected noncitizens and investigate potential illegal ballots in washington state elections.
Concerns Over Mistaken Identification and Previous Actions in California
Secretary Hobbs warned that the system the Justice Department uses can mistakenly flag legitimate U.S. citizens as noncitizens, threatening their right to vote. Instances of noncitizen voting remain rare under federal law, which prohibits noncitizen participation in U.S. elections.
This latest request mirrors the Justice Department’s earlier outreach to California election officials, where similar letters were sent requesting the separation of mail ballots from alleged noncitizens. In California, the Justice Department went as far as filing a lawsuit to block the counting of 20,000 such ballots pending citizenship verification; a hearing on that case is set for Tuesday. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Justice Department has not yet filed a lawsuit but has sent only a letter at this stage.
Source: cbsnews.com.
