Feds allege over 400 noncitizens vote in WA; Hobbs disputes data

The top federal prosecutor in Seattle claimed on Monday that more than 400 noncitizens have been voting in Washington, as the Trump administration’s crusade against alleged voter fraud intensifies in the Evergreen State.

Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said in a press conference Monday that prosecutors haven’t charged any of the alleged fraudulent voters with a crime, but “I do anticipate that we will.” He’s asking the state to set aside their ballots for next week’s midterm election pending confirmation that they’re voting legally.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said his office is “carefully reviewing the request and assessing the information sought to ensure that our response complies with applicable state and federal laws.” Voter fraud is incredibly rare in Washington, he said, and when these cases are found, they’re forwarded to local authorities for prosecution.

He argued the timing just a week before the election is “no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results.”

Floyd sent a letter to Hobbs on Monday with information about the alleged 405 noncitizen voters. He claimed those voters, many of whom are lawful permanent residents, have cast upward of 1,500 ballots in past state and federal elections, and said this was “only the tip of the iceberg.” Some have voted for over a decade, according to the letter.

Hobbs said one of the 405 records shared by federal authorities was from 1994. 

The allegations come as President Donald Trump has escalated the federal government’s search for voting by noncitizen immigrants who are not legally eligible to vote. Trump has falsely complained of widespread fraud for years since his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Trump said Monday he’d give $1 million to anyone who reports such fraud that leads to a conviction.

In California, his administration is seeking a judge’s order requiring state election officials not count the ballots of 20,000 voters who are suspected to be noncitizens. Estimates from federal officials in other states have been determined to be overblown.

“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, a Democrat, said in a statement. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has for over a year been trying to get ahold of Washington’s voter rolls, including sensitive information contained there. Like elsewhere, a federal judge here tossed the Justice Department’s lawsuit trying to force the state to hand over the voter data. Floyd said that the state withholding this information made it harder to investigate the alleged noncitizen voting. 

In July, federal authorities threatened to criminally prosecute state election officials if they failed to prevent noncitizens from voting in next month’s federal elections. And more recently, federal authorities have filed more than 60 subpoenas for individual voter records, Hobbs said.

Floyd’s letter, also signed by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano for the Eastern District of Washington, said federal authorities expect to get another list of noncitizen voters registered in the state from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before next Tuesday’s election.

Floyd, a Trump appointee, alleged Washington doesn’t have the capacity to confirm noncitizens are barred from voting.

“Who is checking to make sure that the people registered to vote are United States citizens? Who is checking to see if noncitizens are voting in Washington?” Floyd said. “Sadly, the answer to those questions in Washington is no one.”

April Miller, the acting special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Seattle, told reporters “we take these allegations seriously and investigate them within the scope of our federal criminal authorities.”

Midterm voting is underway in  Washington, which has more than 5.1 million registered voters and uses a mail-in ballot system. Voters attest to their eligibility when returning their ballot.

Federal authorities will have a presence in Washington’s most populous county on Election Day. King County is one of numerous jurisdictions nationwide where election monitors from the Justice Department will be on hand to ensure election officials comply with federal voting rights laws. The department says this is routine.

Gov. Bob Ferguson is also offering to deploy members of the Washington National Guard to help counties protect ballot drop boxes. At least half a dozen counties have taken him up on the offer.