Politics
Justice Department seeks to hold Washington ballots tied to suspected noncitizen registrations
The Trump administration asked Washington to set aside ballots from more than 400 people it suspects registered to vote without citizenship, pending eligibility checks. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said his office is reviewing the request and will respond only to demands that follow due process.
SEATTLE — The U.S. Justice Department is asking Washington to set aside ballots cast in next month’s midterm election by more than 400 people it suspects may have registered to vote without U.S. citizenship, while state officials check their eligibility.
In a letter to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, the department said the people had cast about 1,500 votes in past elections. Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said Monday that the federal government wanted the ballots held until it could confirm the voters were legally eligible. The state has more than 5 million registered voters.
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said his office was reviewing the demand. His office also said it had received about 60 Justice Department subpoenas seeking voter information since last month.
“We take our responsibility to protect voter information seriously and will only respond to requests that follow due process,” Hobbs said in a statement. He added that Washington did not want residents to be harassed.
The Justice Department said it expects to send Washington another list of people it suspects may not be citizens before Election Day. The department acknowledged that some people on its list may have become naturalized citizens since registering.
The request is part of a broader Trump administration effort to investigate suspected noncitizen voting, which is exceptionally rare. Federal officials have made a similar demand in California, seeking to have mail ballots from as many as 20,000 people set aside. California is challenging that demand in court. During arguments Sunday, a panel of federal appellate judges questioned the Justice Department’s authority, the timing of the request and its constitutionality. The Constitution gives state legislatures authority over the time, place and manner of congressional elections.
A court filing by Los Angeles County Assistant Registrar-Recorder Monica Flores said county staff reviewed a sample of 200 records from the federal list. The sample included registrations that had been canceled or made inactive, people with no voting history and voters who appeared to have been born in the United States.
Investigations elsewhere have also found fewer suspected cases than federal allegations suggested. In Nevada, the administration identified 1,500 potential noncitizen voters, but a subsequent investigation found none. In Arizona’s Maricopa County, the county recorder identified 207 possible cases; the Republican county attorney later determined that eight people were noncitizens.