SEATTLE (Azat TV) – On Monday, October 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice asked Washington state officials to set aside any ballots cast by more than 400 individuals that federal authorities allege are registered to vote without U.S. citizenship. The federal demand, delivered via letter to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, comes less than two weeks before high-stakes midterm elections featuring competitive congressional races that could determine control of the U.S. House and Senate.
According to The Guardian, federal prosecutors claim the 405 identified individuals have cast roughly 1,500 ballots across previous state and federal elections. Charles Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, stated at a news conference that these figures represent only a fraction of illegal voting due to state-imposed investigative limitations. The Trump administration’s directive demands that election workers isolate ballots cast by these individuals until state officials can independently verify their citizenship status.
State Response and Election Security Context
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs sharply criticized the timing of the federal intervention. In an official statement reported by KNKX, Hobbs argued that issuing such demands one week prior to a general election is clearly intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the electoral process. Hobbs emphasized that noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare in the state, noting that his office recorded only 15 confirmed cases between 1982 and 2025 across more than five million registered voters.
Furthermore, state election officials warned that federal lists compiled through rapid data matching frequently flag legitimate U.S. citizens, raising serious privacy concerns and administrative hurdles. Hobbs reiterated that his office strictly follows due process and protects voter registration data from unwarranted federal overreach, noting that a U.S. District Court judge previously ruled against a similar DOJ lawsuit seeking unrestricted access to Washington voter rolls.
Broader Legal Strategy Across Battleground States
The Washington inquiry marks the third time in October 2026 that the Department of Justice has launched direct state-level challenges while voting is already underway. Similar legal maneuvers and administrative demands have been deployed in California and Alaska, targeting states hosting critical congressional battles that could alter the balance of power in Washington, D.C.
In California, a federal appeals court recently reviewed an administration lawsuit demanding the segregation of mail-in ballots from up to 20,000 suspected noncitizens, ultimately sending the matter back to a lower court while questioning the constitutional authority of the federal intervention. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Washington indicated that an additional list of suspected noncitizen voters will be transmitted to state authorities before Election Day on November 3, 2026, intensifying nationwide debates over federal oversight and state authority in administering elections.