Washington Election Chief Refuses DOJ Bid to Hold 405 Suspect Ballots

Washington’s top election official has turned down a Justice Department request to set aside ballots from more than 400 people federal prosecutors say are noncitizens registered to vote in the state, setting up a fresh clash over election integrity just days before the Nov. 3 midterms.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, answered federal prosecutors in an Oct. 28 letter posted on the secretary of state’s website, calling the government’s list “not reliable” and saying a preliminary review found that “many” of the people on it are U.S. citizens.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs responded to claims made earlier this week by the Department of Justice regarding noncitizens voting in elections. Full story: https://t.co/qYqVJSzny2 pic.twitter.com/onIKpW6f0t

— KOMO News (@komonews) October 29, 2026

What the DOJ asked for

According to CBS News, U.S. Attorneys Neil Floyd and Pete Serrano wrote to Hobbs on Monday asking that ballots received from the suspected noncitizens be set aside and not counted until their citizenship could be verified. CBS News reported the prosecutors gave Hobbs 48 hours to act and warned that, if he could not, “the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief.”

Seattle radio station KVI reported that federal prosecutors said they had identified 405 suspected noncitizens who collectively cast more than 1,500 ballots in previous Washington elections, and that officials warned the true number could be in the thousands. KVI noted the request was for a temporary hold pending verification, not a permanent rejection of the ballots.

Hobbs pushes back

In his letter, Hobbs wrote that “without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot.” He argued that people already identified as citizens “may just be the ‘tip of the iceberg'” of voters who would be wrongly disenfranchised, and he cited the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act’s 90-day quiet period before a federal election.

Hobbs also wrote that his office found a “significant number” of people on the list who are not currently registered or are on inactive status. CBS News reported Hobbs said the list arrived as a PDF of a printed spreadsheet without voter ID numbers or addresses and included duplicate entries.

Hobbs said he is “committed to ensuring only eligible persons are registered to vote in Washington,” pointing to the state’s citizenship attestation on registration forms and ballot envelopes.

Roll Call reported that Hobbs urged prosecutors to “revisit the deeply flawed data you provided earlier this week” rather than file what he called “a meritless lawsuit.” As of Thursday afternoon, CBS News reported no Washington-specific lawsuit appeared to have been filed. More than 1.3 million mail ballots had been returned in the state as of Wednesday, according to CBS News.

Judge orders DOJ to name other states

The Washington standoff is part of a wider fight. Roll Call reported that Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., ordered the Justice Department on Thursday to disclose which states, beyond California and Washington, it has sent similar ballot demands to since July. Boasberg left open the possibility of a ruling by Monday that would bar the government from sending more such letters, according to Roll Call, and said the administration could make the case moot by committing not to send more.

The Justice Department has framed the letters as an effort to keep ineligible votes from being counted. Whether courts will let it act before Election Day may be decided in the next few days.

Sources

• Washington Secretary of State: Hobbs response to DOJ letter (Oct. 28, 2026)
• CBS News
• 570 KVI
• Roll Call
• KOMO News on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.