Days before the midterm election, the U.S. Department of Justice identified 400 Washington voters whose citizenship status is in question, according to the Western Journal’s account of a Tuesday news conference by Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd.
What DOJ asked for
The outlet reports that Floyd asked Washington election officials to set aside those ballots while eligibility is confirmed, quoting him as saying he requested officials “set aside those ballots until we can confirm they are legal voters.” The Western Journal also attributes to Floyd the claim that, based on an initial sample, he is confident “we are looking at thousands of noncitizens who have been voting in Washington.”
Democratic leaders push back
Washington Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad called the move an attempt to “undermine the integrity of the upcoming election,” according to her statement to The Center Square cited by the Western Journal. Conrad added, “We will not be intimidated by this effort to disenfranchise eligible voters, and we will not allow this illegal, unconstitutional federal interference in our elections…”
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, in a recent news release referenced by the Western Journal, said “the timing of this request — one week before the General Election — is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results.” Hobbs also noted in that release that his office meets regularly with federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to discuss election matters.
Republican response
Washington Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh told The Center Square that the 400 flagged voters are likely “the very tip of the iceberg,” per the Western Journal’s write-up of his comments.
What the outlet says about the legal fight
The Western Journal points to 52 U.S. Code § 20701, which grants the Attorney General access to certain election-related records, and characterizes DOJ’s position as claiming authority to demand all voter information. The outlet says courts have rejected that stance regarding complete voter rolls. It argues the Washington request differs because it concerns about 400 specific names rather than all voters. The Western Journal also states that, as of its report, the Democratic-led state government had not yet turned over the information to DOJ.
Key details—including DOJ’s underlying evidence, any official documentation of the request, and the state’s final response—were not provided in the Western Journal’s piece.
