US Justice Department asks Washington to set aside ballots of over 400 suspected noncitizens
By Vera, Vocemundi ·
By Vera, Vocemundi · 2026-10-31
On Monday, 26 October 2026, the US Justice Department asked Washington state to set aside any midterm ballots received from more than 400 people it suspects registered to vote without US citizenship. The Hindu reported the date.
In a letter to Washington's secretary of state, the department said it had identified 1,500 votes cast by more than 400 people in prior elections. It asked the state to set aside any ballots these people might cast in next month's elections until state officials can confirm they are legally eligible. Washington has more than 5 million registered voters.
The department said it expects to send Washington another list of suspected noncitizens before Election Day. It also noted that some people on its list may have since become naturalized. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is reviewing the request.
According to The Guardian, the federal data covers 405 people and shows when each last voted. Hobbs's office said one person last voted in 1994, the outlet reported. The Guardian also reported that the department has demanded voter data, including addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. According to The Hindu, Hobbs's office said it had received about 60 subpoenas from the department since last month.
The California case
The Washington request is similar to a department attempt to require California to set aside mail ballots from up to 20,000 people. In that case, a federal appeals panel heard rare Sunday arguments. The judges questioned the timing, constitutionality and authority of the demand. According to The Guardian, the panel on Monday declined to rule on the department's expedited timeline and sent the case back to a lower court.
In a court filing, Los Angeles County Assistant Registrar-Recorder Monica Flores said her staff reviewed a sample of 200 records from the federal list. The sample included canceled or inactive registrations, people with no voting history and voters who appeared to have been born in the United States.
The US Constitution's Elections Clause gives state legislatures the power to set the time, place and manner of congressional elections.
According to The Guardian, this is the third time this month that the department has directly challenged a state while voting is under way. The other states are California and Alaska. All three have races that will help decide control of Congress.
The Hindu reported earlier cases. In Nevada, the administration alleged 1,500 potential noncitizen voters, and a later investigation found none. In Maricopa County, Arizona, the county recorder announced 207 possible noncitizens, and the Republican county attorney determined there were eight.
What each side says
- Neil Floyd, acting US attorney, said at a news conference: "We are asking the state to set aside those ballots until we can confirm they are legal voters," The Hindu reported. The Guardian, which names him Charles Neil Floyd, quoted him calling the 405 voters "the tip of the iceberg" and saying state limitations had restricted the investigation.
- Steve Hobbs said the timing was "no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results," according to The Guardian. In an emailed statement quoted by The Hindu, he said: "We see what's happening in California and don't want Washingtonians to be harassed."
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta vowed to "fight back against the administration’s unlawful overreach at every turn," according to The Guardian.
The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not say how the department determined that the 405 people may be noncitizens, beyond Floyd's reference to officers' "recent contacts". They also do not say whether any of them has been confirmed as a noncitizen.
Analysis
The request raises questions about how far federal authorities can intervene in elections that the Constitution largely assigns to states. The California appeals panel's questions about timing and authority may signal how courts approach similar demands, though the reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not mention any litigation over the Washington request, which Hobbs said he was still reviewing. Much depends on the accuracy of the federal lists. The Los Angeles County sample and the earlier Nevada and Arizona cases reported by The Hindu point to possible errors, but they do not establish the accuracy of the Washington list. Washington's response, and any legal challenge, could shape public confidence in the results either way.
Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.
This story was originally published by Vocemundi and is republished under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license. How we verified this story.
Originally published by Vocemundi Wire — English