Steve Hobbs 1 Rebuttal To DOJ Noncitizen Claims Washington 2026

Key Points

• DOJ Demands and Allegations: The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), led in Washington by Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano, sent a formal letter demanding state officials investigate a list of alleged non-citizen voters and refrain from counting their ballots.
• Claims of Non-Citizen Voting: The DOJ asserted that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records identified 405 potential non-citizens who have allegedly cast more than 1,500 total votes in Washington state elections, including in the August 2026 primary.
• Secretary Steve Hobbs’ Rebuttal: Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs issued a scathing response criticizing the DOJ’s letter for lacking supporting evidence, containing duplicate entries, missing critical data fields like Voter IDs, and providing an unverified PDF format.
• Critical Technical Errors: Hobbs highlighted that the federal letter incorrectly cited the upcoming 2026 General Election date as “November 2, 2026” instead of the actual date, November 3, 2026.
• Preliminary Findings: Initial reviews conducted by state election officials revealed that a significant number of individuals on the federal list are either naturalised U.S. citizens or are inactive/unregistered, meaning they were never issued ballots for the current election cycle.
• Legal and Statutory Warnings: Hobbs warned the federal government that refusing to tabulate valid ballots based on unverified allegations would violate state election laws and federal statutes, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Olympia (Evening Washington News) October 30, 2026 – Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has strongly condemned a demand from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) that instructs state election administrators to set aside ballots cast by alleged non-citizens ahead of the upcoming 2026 General Election. In a detailed response issued on Wednesday, Hobbs described the federal claims as “deeply flawed,” technically deficient, and delivered on the eve of the election without verifiable supporting evidence. State officials warned that complying with the DOJ’s directives without strict adherence to statutory verification procedures risks the unlawful disenfranchisement of eligible American voters.

What Did the Department of Justice Claim Regarding Washington Voters?

According to reporting by KOIN 6 News and the Associated Press, the legal dispute began on Monday when Acting U.S. Attorney in Seattle Charles Neil Floyd and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano transmitted an official letter to Secretary Steve Hobbs. The federal prosecutors claimed that data supplied by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that non-citizens were actively registered and voting across Washington state.

In their formal letter to Hobbs, federal officials stated:

“The United States is concerned with the number of noncitizen voters, both enrolled and actively voting in the State of Washington, as allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes.”

The DOJ further asserted that federal law enforcement officers cross-referenced voter rolls during recent contacts with suspected non-citizens. Based on those checks, the department alleged that 405 individuals sent ballots in Washington had cast over 1,500 cumulative votes, with some participating in state elections for over a decade. U.S. Attorney Floyd subsequently held a news conference in Seattle, characterized by the Associated Press, where he described the 405 identified names as “the tip of the iceberg”.

The DOJ demanded that state election staff review the provided list within 24 hours and instruct local county auditors not to verify signatures or tabulate ballots submitted by any person listed until citizenship status could be confirmed. The department added that a second list of names would be provided ahead of Election Day.

How Did Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs Respond to the DOJ’s Demands?

As reported by KOIN 6 News, Secretary Steve Hobbs issued a comprehensive letter admonishing federal authorities for sending unverified claims barely one week before Election Day, long after state mail-in ballots were dispatched to registered voters on October 16.

Criticizing the timing and protocol of the federal request, Hobbs wrote:

“The timing of your letter is profoundly disappointing. As your letter makes clear, you are aware Washington mailed ballots to all active registered voters no later than October 16. Despite that, you sent your letter well after that date and barely one week before Election Day. As you know, my office holds regular consultations with your office in the months leading up to elections. If you had valid concerns about voter registrations, the time to raise them was months ago.”

Hobbs further outlined severe technical deficiencies in the documentation provided by federal authorities. Instead of submitting structured data files, the DOJ provided a static PDF printout that lacked key identifiers such as address records or state Voter ID numbers. The Secretary of State noted that the federal document contained duplicate entries and listed an incorrect date for the upcoming election.

Addressing these administrative errors, Hobbs stated:

“I would also note the manner in which you provided your list was not designed to facilitate the prompt review you request. Rather than provide an electronic spreadsheet, you provided a PDF document with a printed spreadsheet. That spreadsheet lacked publicly available fields that would facilitate review, such as the Voter ID number or the person’s address. The absence of these fields makes it difficult—if not impossible—to confirm whether an entry on the list matches a voter registration. And the list provided includes some duplicate entries, which indicates the list was created in a rushed manner.”

“The rushed manner is confirmed by your incorrect statement that the election is ‘November 2, 2026.’ Election Day—as you should well know—is November 3. Basic factual errors like this are unacceptable and risk confusing voters.”

What Did Preliminary State Investigations Reveal About the DOJ’s List?

Despite the structural flaws in the federal data, the Washington Secretary of State’s office immediately initiated a preliminary review of the names supplied by the DOJ.

According to statements provided by Hobbs’ office to KOIN 6 News, state analysts quickly determined that a “significant number” of the individuals flagged on the DOJ’s document are not active voters. Many individuals listed were found to have inactive status or were not registered to vote in Washington at all, meaning no ballots were generated or mailed to them for the 2026 General Election. Furthermore, preliminary cross-referencing revealed that numerous individuals on the federal list are fully naturalised United States citizens lawfully eligible to vote.

In his formal written response, Hobbs emphasized that refusing to process or tabulate ballots based solely on an unverified list would directly violate state and federal protections:

“It would likely be unlawful to decline to count ballots simply because a person’s name appears on the unverified list. The right to vote is a sacred right, and federal and state law provide strong protections against wrongful disenfranchisement. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provides that election officials may not ‘willfully fail or refuse to tabulate, count, or report’ a qualified voter’s vote.”

Hobbs noted that under Washington state law (RCW 29A.08.810–.850 and RCW 29A.08.370(3)), specific legal channels exist to challenge voter eligibility, but those procedures require concrete, individualized proof rather than unsubstantiated claims. He called on federal authorities to cease distracting election workers during the final days of balloting and instead present verifiable evidence for collaborative post-election review.

Background of the Particular Development

The sharp dispute in Washington state follows a broader series of federal inquiries and legal actions targeting state voter rolls across the United States. As reported by the Associated Press, the DOJ’s letter to Washington arrived less than two weeks after the department made similar non-citizen voting claims against election officials in California.

Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 611), it is a federal crime for non-citizens to vote in elections for federal office. However, extensive independent academic studies and prior state-level audits have consistently found that non-citizen voting is extraordinarily rare across American elections. In Washington, vote-by-mail systems require voters to sign a legally binding declaration under penalty of perjury asserting their U.S. citizenship and eligibility upon registering and returning a ballot.

The conflict between the federal executive branch and Washington state officials also follows earlier litigation. In September 2026, a federal judge in Seattle dismissed a separate lawsuit brought by the DOJ attempting to force the state of Washington to surrender full voter registration databases, including sensitive personal identification details.

Prediction: How Can This Development Affect Voters and Election Administration?

The late-stage confrontation between the federal Department of Justice and the Washington Secretary of State’s office carries significant operational, legal, and political implications for the 2026 General Election and future election administration:

• For Voters in Washington State: Registered voters are unlikely to experience immediate disruptions to ballot processing, as state election officials have confirmed they will follow established statutory verification procedures rather than summarily setting aside ballots. However, high-profile claims surrounding voter rolls can heighten public anxiety and create confusion regarding ballot tabulation timelines.
• For Local Election Workers and County Auditors: County election staff across Washington’s 39 counties face heightened administrative scrutiny during an extraordinarily busy operational window. Staff will be required to maintain strict adherence to signature verification protocols while managing elevated public and media inquiries surrounding ballot security.
• For Federal-State Legal Relations: The exchange establishes the groundwork for potential post-election legal challenges. If the DOJ files formal litigation seeking to enjoin the certification of specific election results, federal courts will be asked to determine whether DHS database matches constitute sufficient legal cause to override state ballot tabulation laws. Continued legal resistance from states like Washington and California reinforces federalism boundaries regarding state authority over election administration.