Steve Hobbs says DOJ list of 405 flagged voters includes citizens

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has confirmed that American citizens are included in a list of 405 individuals flagged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly voting illegally in state elections. Hobbs informed federal prosecutors that many of the people on the DOJ list are not even currently registered to vote in Washington, making the federal request to set aside their ballots “likely unlawful.”

At the heart of the dispute is a DOJ claim that noncitizens have cast ballots with “high confidence,” while the state argues the federal data is riddled with “glaring deficiencies.”

The Dispute Over 405 Flagged Voters

In a letter sent to acting U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Neil Floyd and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington Pete Serrano, Steve Hobbs argued that the state cannot simply stop processing ballots based on a list that lacks individualized proof of ineligibility. Hobbs maintains that doing so would be both irresponsible and illegal under federal and state law.

Washington Secretary of State rejects DOJ voter list

The DOJ’s position, delivered during a Monday news conference by Neil Floyd, is that 1,500 ballots have been illegally cast in Washington—a figure Floyd described as “only the tip of the iceberg.” The agency asserts that many of these individuals are lawful permanent residents who, while legally present in the U.S., are ineligible to vote. However, Floyd noted that the agency has not actually charged anyone with illegal voting in state elections.

Hobbs countered this narrative by pointing out that a preliminary review, conducted on what he called an “unreasonably short timeline,” already proved that many of the flagged individuals are U.S. citizens. He suggested it is “almost certain” that even more citizens are hidden in the DOJ’s data.

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A Pattern of ‘Election Interference’

Hobbs explicitly linked this situation to recent DOJ actions in Alaska and California. In July, the DOJ claimed that 19,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in California. That claim faced immediate scrutiny when California officials analyzed a sample of 200 names and found a “high percentage” were born in the U.S., and many had no history of voting. A federal appeals court eventually denied the DOJ’s request to block California from counting ballots from those identified individuals.

Hobbs argued that given this history, it would be “particularly inappropriate” for Washington to assume the Department’s unsupported allegations are credible.

The Statistical Reality of Noncitizen Voting

To put the DOJ’s “tip of the iceberg” comment into perspective, the data on actual noncitizen voting in Washington shows an extremely rare occurrence. Between 1982 and 2025, only 15 cases of noncitizen voting were identified.

Metric	Value
Total Ballots Cast (Since 1994)	113.5 Million
Identified Noncitizen Votes (1982-2025)	15
Percentage of Total Ballots	0.000006%

DOJ Reviews Findings in Hobbs Letter

The DOJ has not yet responded to the specific findings in Hobbs’ letter beyond a brief statement from Emily Langlie, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle. Langlie confirmed that Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd and First Assistant Attorney Pete Serrano are reviewing the letter to decide on their next steps.

Hobbs has invited the DOJ to provide “individualized proof” for any specific voter they believe is ineligible, asserting that Washington’s existing safeguards are sufficient to ensure only eligible persons are registered. He urged the agency to revisit their “deeply flawed data” and work collaboratively rather than through public accusations.

“Your decision to wait until the eve of an election and announce those concerns at a press conference instead of timely providing the list and any corroborating evidence to my office is not a sign of good faith to ensure a free, fair, and accurate election.”