Trump administration asks Washington to set aside hundreds of ballots from suspected noncitizen voters

Key points

• The Justice Department asked Washington state to set aside ballots from more than 400 people it says are registered without US citizenship.
• Washington secretary of state Steve Hobbs said the request, made a week before the general election, is intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results.
• The Washington request is the third direct state challenge this month, following California and Alaska.

The Trump administration on Monday asked Washington state to set aside any ballots received from more than 400 people it alleges are registered to vote without US citizenship. The request came less than two weeks after a similar demand in California.

In a letter to Washington secretary of state Steve Hobbs, the Justice Department said it had identified 1,500 votes cast by more than 400 people in prior elections. It asked the state to hold aside any ballots they might cast in next month's midterm elections until officials confirm they are legally eligible to vote. Washington has more than 5 million registered voters and mails ballots to all of them.

What officials said

At a news conference, Charles Neil Floyd, the acting US attorney in Seattle, said the 405 voters identified so far represented "the tip of the iceberg." He said state limits on the investigation meant only a fraction of the total number could be uncovered.

Hobbs said he was reviewing the request. His office noted the data included the last time each of the 405 people voted, with one dating to 1994. Hobbs said the timing, a week before the general election, was "no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results."

The timing of this request – one week before the general election – is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results

— Steve Hobbs

Wider pattern of challenges

Floyd said much of the list was built from recent contacts with suspected noncitizens, because federal officers now routinely check whether people they interact with are registered. He said proving illegal voting will be difficult without access to state records.

The Washington request is the third time this month the Justice Department has brought a direct state challenge during voting. It sued California over up to 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters, and filed a suit in Alaska seeking to delay certification if the Republican incumbent does not win. In California, an appeals court declined to rule on the expedited timeline and sent the case back to a lower court.