Days before ballots are counted, Washington’s election chief says the Justice Department’s 405-name “noncitizen voter” list includes U.S. citizens.
Story Snapshot
- Federal prosecutors flagged 405 alleged noncitizen voters and about 1,500 past votes, seeking to hold their ballots.
- Washington’s secretary of state said the list includes U.S. citizens, duplicates, and inactive or unregistered voters.
- The state says the list arrived as a PDF without voter ID numbers or addresses, making matches unreliable.
- The clash lands less than two weeks before the election, raising fears of eroding trust on all sides.
What the Justice Department asked Washington to do
Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano told Washington officials on October 26 that federal data identified 405 alleged noncitizen voters. They said the group had about 1,500 total prior votes. They asked the state to set aside any new ballots from those people until citizenship could be checked. They said they built the list by cross-checking immigration-related records with public voter data.
Federal officials framed the request as narrow and testable. They reportedly included the date each person last voted, so counties could verify records. They did not ask Washington to reject all ballots. They asked to segregate ballots tied to those names while verification happened. The goal, they said, was to stop illegal votes while protecting lawful votes. The letter carried names and roles from both federal districts in Washington, signaling accountability.
How Washington’s election chief pushed back
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs replied that the federal list was not reliable. He said a preliminary review found U.S. citizens on it, plus duplicate entries and people not currently registered or on inactive status. He said his office could not safely match many entries because the file lacked voter-identification numbers and street addresses. He said a PDF printout of a spreadsheet, delivered on a short deadline, was not a sound base for holding ballots.
Hobbs also said the Department of Justice did not explain its sources or methods enough to support the claim. He warned that the timing, just before votes are counted, could harm public trust. State officials said they would not instruct counties to hold or reject ballots based on that list alone. They asked for individualized proof of noncitizenship at the time of each alleged vote before any ballot action would occur. He described the federal flagging system as flawed, sometimes relying on old data.
What both sides say about evidence and process
Federal prosecutors point to named individuals, a numeric scope, and a stated method. They argue that cross-checks, border interviews, and immigration records can reveal illegal registrations. They say the list’s last-vote dates allow fast testing against county files, which should make review practical. They emphasize a pause-and-verify approach, not a mass rejection, to avoid harming lawful voters while blocking illegal votes.
Washington officials argue that database matches are not proof that a person is a noncitizen today or was a noncitizen when they voted. They note that people naturalize, records age, and names can match by mistake. They stress that some flagged people are already known citizens in state files. They add that duplicates and inactive records undercut the claim of 405 unique current voters. They want machine-readable data with precise identifiers to check each person.
Why the timing and format matter for trust
The request arrived under a tight window right before ballots are processed. A short deadline leaves little time to confirm status changes, fix mismatches, or resolve duplicates. That pressure can fuel suspicion across parties. People on the right fear illegal votes. People on the left fear voter suppression. When evidence is not shared in a usable format, both sides doubt the process. That cycle widens the trust gap the country already feels.
28 October 2026
POLITICAL WATCH ALERT
DOJ TELLS WASHINGTON TO SEGREGATE BALLOTS FROM MORE THAN 400 POSSIBLE NONCITIZENS
SUMMARY
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked Washington state election officials to set aside mail ballots associated with more than 400 people federal…
— USA Politics Watch (@USPolitWatch) October 28, 2026
Past cases show how early lists can shrink after review. Analysts have found that alleged noncitizen voting often falls to a very small number when checked name by name. That does not mean risks are fake. It means data checks must be careful and verified before ballots are held or tossed. Clear records, shared standards, and joint audits help prevent both illegal voting and wrongful disenfranchisement. Precision, not speed, is what builds faith in the count.
What would resolve the dispute fairly
A fast, joint audit could settle facts without drama. The Department of Justice could provide a machine-readable list with full matching fields and dates for every data point. Washington counties could compare the list to voter files, ballot logs, and signature reviews under current law. Each person’s citizenship at each voting date could be confirmed with federal naturalization records. Any verified illegal votes could go to prosecutors. Any errors could be corrected.
Leaders should explain results in plain language and with numbers the public can see. Name how many people were unique matches, how many were citizens, how many were inactive, and how many actually cast ballots. Say what broke down and what will change. The goal is the same for everyone: only eligible citizens should vote, and every legal vote should count. That standard protects the American idea that the people, not the insiders, choose the government.
Sources:
cbsnews.com, spokesman.com, thehill.com, newsfromthestates.com
