Trump administration: Hundreds of Washington state voters may be noncitizens

Federal officials on Monday called on Washington state’s election officials to set aside ballots from over 400 people they say have illegally registered to vote without U.S. citizenship.

The Justice Department (DOJ), in a letter to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, said it has identified 1,500 votes cast by the more than 400 people in prior elections, the Associated Press reported . The department asked the state to set aside any ballots they might cast in the upcoming midterm elections until state officials can confirm their eligibility to vote.

“For years Washington State has had a mantra: our elections are ‘free, fair, and devoid of fraud.’ But our investigation shows not all of that is true – people who are non-citizens are registered to vote and are voting in our state,” Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, wrote in a press release Monday.

Floyd called the over 400 noncitizens identified by the department “only the tip of the iceberg.”

Hobbs said he was reviewing the DOJ’s request with his office, noting that the data shared by the department included the last time each of the 405 people voted, according to the AP report.

“The timing of this request — one week before the General Election — is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results,” Hobbs said in the AP report.

According to the DOJ release, many of the people in the list are lawful permanent residents or “green card” holders who, the department notes, have legal immigration status but are not allowed to vote in U.S. elections.

Federal law dictates that only U.S. citizens are permitted to vote in federal elections, according to a fact sheet from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The DOJ released notes that if a noncitizen is registered to vote, they should report that to the Secretary of State’s Office to cancel their registration.

“We have heard from green card holders who were registered against their knowledge via the Washington Motor Voter program,” the release said. “Then they receive a ballot in the mail and assume they are legally registered – that simply is not the case.”

The move, which comes roughly a week before the midterm elections, is the latest effort by the Trump administration in identifying noncitizen voters.

Last week, the DOJ charged 28 California voters who are allegedly not U.S. citizens in criminal complaints with federal crimes. All 28 individuals are lawful permanent residents some of whom, the department said , fraudulently registered to vote in U.S. elections.

Earlier this month, the department sued California , after giving it a USB drive and demanding that within 48 hours the state compare 20,000 names on its data rolls with information provided by the Department of Homeland Security.