The Trump administration has made another controversial move in its ongoing efforts to assert influence over state electoral processes, this time targeting Washington state. On Monday, the Department of Justice requested that officials in Washington sequester approximately 400 ballots from voters identified as potential noncitizens.
Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, reached out to the state’s secretary of state, urging a review of this list of registrants. He claimed that these individuals may not be eligible to vote and called for their ballots to be isolated as a precaution.
Floyd commented, “We have identified over 400 non-citizens who are registered to vote and have voted in multiple elections. This is only the tip of the iceberg. We will continue to investigate and identify those who are committing crimes by voting illegally.” This assertion, however, comes in the wake of a recent legal setback for the administration in California, where a court ruled against its attempt to segregate thousands of ballots there.
In a letter sent to Washington’s election officials—shared with NBC News—the Justice Department demanded quick action, giving the state just 24 hours to verify the citizenship status of the individuals on the list. Washington, which boasts a voter base exceeding five million, has previously resisted sharing its unredacted voter rolls with federal authorities, a move criticized by Floyd as hindering their investigation.
In a statement, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs expressed concerns over the timing of the request, just a week before the General Election. He emphasized the responsibility to safeguard voter information and indicated that the request appears aimed at casting doubt on the integrity of the upcoming election.
While there are instances where noncitizens appear on voter rolls, experts note that very few actually participate in elections due to the serious legal ramifications of doing so. The Justice Department has suggested there could be around 20,000 noncitizens on California’s voter lists, prompting similar calls for action against that state.
Leading up to the elections, the Trump administration has sought to increase its involvement in state electoral processes, including a recent lawsuit in Alaska aimed at halting certification of a Senate race due to concerns about candidate names. Experts have cautioned that the administration’s legal strategies may be on shaky ground, as federal law does not explicitly empower the Justice Department to intervene in the certification of elections.
Photo credit: David Ryder
