DOJ ramps up intimidation in Washington after election chief laughs off error-riddled demand letter

By Jim Saksa

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FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs speaks during a news conference at which the state attorney general announced a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order attempting to overhaul elections in the U.S., in Seattle, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes, File)

A top federal prosecutor in Washington state escalated a confrontation with Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) Thursday night after Hobbs described the Department of Justice’s DOJ) list of 405 alleged noncitizen voters on the state’s voter rolls as “garbage.” 

Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd of the Western District of Washington claimed in a statement that Hobbs admitted that there could be some noncitizens on the registration rolls — usually a result of a paperwork mistake made while applying for a driver’s license — and that his office does not systemically parse the rolls for non-citizens. 

“In other words, the State of Washington does nothing to confirm citizenship,” Floyd wrote. “They are knowingly sending out ballots to non-citizens and trust that the non-citizens will not fill out the ballot.”

Floyd was responding to a Thursday press conference in which Hobbs excoriated the DOJ’s list, noting that a preliminary review by his office uncovered many falsely flagged citizens. In an error-riddled letter Monday, the DOJ asked Washington to segregate ballots from individuals on the list and not count them in this year’s elections. 

“They’re sending this dumpster fire disguised as a legal document rife with mistakes they can’t even get the election date right,” Hobbs said Thursday.

Washington, in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act, does confirm citizenship: All voters must sign an attestation of their citizenship when they register. 

It’s unclear whether Floyd’s office will now sue Washington. The DOJ recently sued California over the state’s refusal to separate ballots from a list of alleged noncitizens, but a federal judge denied the administration’s request for a temporary restraining order Wednesday. While the DOJ has appealed, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals already signaled its unwillingness to grant that order in an earlier decision in the litigation.