Justice Department demands Washington pause counting for 405 suspected noncitizen voters

The U.S. Justice Department asked Washington state on Monday to hold the ballots of 405 registered voters who the federal government suspects are not U.S. citizens. The request targets the upcoming midterm election in a state with a highly contested congressional district. The administration made a similar demand in California less than two weeks ago.

In a letter to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, the Justice Department identified 1,500 votes cast by these 405 individuals in previous elections. The department asked state officials to set aside any new ballots from these people until their eligibility is confirmed. Washington has more than 5 million registered voters, all of whom receive mail ballots.

Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, stated that the 405 voters represent only a small portion of the total number of suspected noncitizens. He cited limitations placed by the state on the federal investigation as the reason for the low count. The list was largely built from recent interactions between federal officers and suspected noncitizens who were checked for voter registration.

Hobbs said his office was reviewing the request and noted that the federal data includes the last time each person voted. One individual on the list last cast a ballot in 1994. Hobbs argued that the timing, one week before the general election, is designed to create doubt about the results. The state has stated that it is working to verify the information provided by the department.

The Justice Department said it expects to send an additional list of suspected noncitizens to Washington before Election Day. The department also acknowledged that some individuals on the list may have since become naturalized. Without access to state records such as dates of birth and driver's license numbers, Floyd said proving illegal voting will be difficult.

This is the third direct state challenge brought by the Justice Department this month while voting is underway. The three states involved are Washington, California, and Alaska. Each has House or Senate races that will help determine control of Congress. In California, federal appellate judges heard arguments on Sunday and declined to rule on an expedited timeline, sending the case back to a lower court.

The race for Washington's 3rd Congressional District is among the most competitive in the country. Democrats rely on Rep. Maria Gluesenkamp Perez winning reelection to retake the House majority. The district has supported President Donald Trump in every presidential election he has entered. The federal government's actions are part of a broader effort to identify noncitizen voters, a practice that is statistically rare.

Previous investigations into similar claims have often found fewer cases than initially alleged. In Nevada, the administration claimed 1,500 potential noncitizen voters, but a subsequent investigation found zero. In Maricopa County, Arizona, local officials initially identified 207 possible noncitizens, while the county attorney later determined the number was eight. Los Angeles County staff reviewed a sample of 200 records from the California list and found canceled registrations, inactive voters, and people with no voting history.

Washington officials have also pointed to changes in U.S. Postal Service operations that have affected thousands of legitimate voters. The Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants state legislatures the authority to set the time, place, and manner of congressional elections. The Justice Department's demand places that state power in tension with federal oversight during the final week of the election cycle.