SEATTLE – Federal authorities are asking Washington election officials to set aside ballots from more than 400 voters they suspect registered without U.S. citizenship.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office held a press briefing Monday at the federal courthouse in Seattle, where officials claimed they had identified 400 noncitizens that have voted in state and federal elections, with 1,500 ballots that were illegally cast.
The Trump administration sent a letter to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, requesting that the state sequester any midterm election ballots cast by over 400 individuals until their citizenship status can be confirmed.
DOJ seeks to set aside Washington ballots
What they’re saying:
“We are asking the state to set aside those ballots until we can confirm they are legal voters,” Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said.
Floyd also said federal authorities believe there are thousands of noncitizens that have been voting in Washington, and they anticipate sending an additional list of suspected noncitizens before Election Day.
Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd requests Washington state set aside 400 ballots from suspected noncitizens during a press conference on Oct. 26, 2026. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs confirmed his office is reviewing the administration’s demand after receiving roughly 60 federal subpoenas seeking voter records over the past month.
How Washington state voter safeguards work
Federal and state laws explicitly prohibit noncitizens from casting ballots in U.S. federal and state elections. In Washington, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote when applying for or renewing a driver’s license, a process state officials emphasize is tied to verification of citizenship.
According to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, records are cross-checked against data from the Department of Licensing and the Social Security Administration.
“If a voter’s registration information does not match the records on file with department of licensing or social security administration, they may be provisionally registered,” the Secretary of State’s website states. “But, their ballot will not be counted until they provide valid identification.”
Rare instances of noncitizen voting in Washington
By the numbers:
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has previously defended the state’s security measures, pointing out that verified noncitizen voting in the state is rare. According to data released by Hobbs’ office earlier this year, Washington recorded just 15 cases of noncitizen voting between 1982 and 2025 – representing 0.000006% of all ballots cast.
What they’re saying:
“Voting fraud is incredibly rare,” Secretary Steve Hobbs said in a statement addressing federal election scrutiny. “When issues do occur, our system is designed to identify and resolve them swiftly. “
While voters in six other states are considering ballot measures this cycle to clarify that only U.S. citizens may vote in local municipal elections as well, Washington does not have a similar measure on its ballot.
Scrutiny across multiple states
The Seattle announcement comes as the Trump administration asserts that noncitizens are registered and voting in U.S. elections nationwide.
The backstory:
Federal scrutiny expanded late last week when the Department of Justice demanded that county election registrars in California sequester ballots associated with approximately 20,000 voters, alleging those ballots were issued to noncitizens. The Justice Department requested identifying voter details in that matter, including Social Security numbers.
Research and documented election cases
Big picture view:
Independent research organizations note that substantiated cases of noncitizen voting remain extremely rare.
Nonpartisan research organization Migration Policy Institute reports there is no evidence that unauthorized immigrants, permanent residents or temporary visa holders are voting in significant numbers in American elections.
According to estimates by the Pew Research Center, more than 28 million noncitizens resided in the United States in 2023. By contrast, a recent Justice Department announcement regarding nationwide election crimes identified 16 individuals charged across the country with offenses related to noncitizen voting and voter eligibility.
What’s next:
The Department of Justice has not specified any potential legal action against Washington state if it does not adhere to the Trump administration’s request.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, Pew Research Center, the Associated Press and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Taylor Winkel.
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