DOJ asks Washington to set aside ballots tied to 405 disputed voters
Source published: Oct 27, 2026 · 10:47 AM EDT · Event: 2026-10-26
The Justice Department asked Washington state to set aside any mail ballots received from 405 people it says may not be U.S. citizens until state officials verify their eligibility. DOJ says the group cast about 1,500 votes in prior elections and told the state it may seek emergency court relief if officials do not act by noon Pacific on October 28. The request is an executive-branch demand based on federal allegations. It is not a court order, and the reviewed sources did not identify a filed Washington lawsuit or judicial finding that the listed people are ineligible or voted unlawfully.
Response / context
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said his office was reviewing DOJ's request and called its timing, one week before the general election, an effort to cast unfounded suspicion on the results. His office noted that one listed person last voted in 1994. DOJ's public release describes the people as noncitizens and says many are lawful permanent residents, but Reuters reports that the underlying letter uses more qualified language and acknowledges some flagged people may have naturalized. DOJ did not disclose how many may now be citizens. Associated Press reported that prior federal noncitizen-voter allegations produced far fewer confirmed cases after state review, including zero among 1,500 people examined in Nevada. Those comparisons do not decide the status of Washington's 405 listed voters, which remains under review.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Oct 27, 2026 · 10:47 AM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-10-26. Federal prosecutors sent the letter to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs on October 26. DOJ's Eastern District of Washington press release was dated October 26 and updated October 27. Reuters published at 2:47 p.m. UTC, or 10:47 a.m. EDT, on October 27. The Ledger reviewed the DOJ release and the Reuters and Associated Press reports at 1 p.m. EDT October 27. The letter, public announcement, news publication and source-review times are distinct.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
Read the original sources
- U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington: Federal data shows hundreds of non-citizens registered to vote in Washington ↗
Primary DOJ press release dated October 26 and updated October 27 stating the department's allegations and request that Washington set aside ballots; it is an agency statement, not a court filing or adjudication
- Reuters, Luc Cohen: US Justice Dept asks Washington state not to count ballots from possible noncitizens ↗
October 27 report on the October 26 letter, noon-Pacific October 28 deadline, threatened emergency-relief request, DOJ acknowledgment that some listed people may have naturalized and absence of an immediate state response at publication
- Associated Press, Gene Johnson and Rebecca Boone: Trump administration asks Washington to set aside ballots from 400 voters it says may be noncitizens ↗
October 27 report identifying 405 listed voters, the asserted 1,500 prior votes, Hobbs's response, the 1994 last-vote example and results of earlier state reviews of federal allegations
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