DOJ Investigates Illegal Voter Registrations in Washington State

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has raised concerns about over 400 individuals who may be illegally registered to vote in Washington state.

On Monday, officials announced that they’ve instructed two U.S. Attorney’s Offices to separate ballots submitted by these individuals for verification of their citizenship status.

The DOJ shared a list of these people, most of whom are lawful permanent residents, commonly known as “green card” holders. While they have legal immigration status in the U.S., they aren’t citizens and therefore can’t participate in federal elections.

“We have heard from green card holders who were registered against their knowledge via the Washington Motor Voter program. Then they receive a ballot in the mail and assume they are legally registered – that simply is not the case,” the DOJ’s press statement noted.

The Department cautioned noncitizens who find themselves registered to vote to alert the Secretary of State’s Office. Those who intentionally lie about their immigration status on voter registration forms could face criminal charges, and this could complicate their path to becoming naturalized citizens later on.

“For years Washington State has had a mantra: our elections are ‘free, fair, and devoid of fraud.’ But our investigation shows not all of that is true – people who are non-citizens are registered to vote and are voting in our state,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “We have identified over 400 non-citizens who are registered to vote and have voted in multiple elections. This is only the tip of the iceberg. We will continue to investigate and identify those who are committing crimes by voting illegally.”

Floyd mentioned to Fox News that investigators utilized U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data to create the voter list. He highlighted that some individuals voted infrequently—perhaps once or a few times—while others participated in elections as many as 27 times.

“Free and fair elections should be the concern of every United States citizen. Our purpose in sharing this data with the Secretary of State is to protect the sanctity of each citizen’s vote,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano for the Eastern District of Washington. “Our goal in sharing this information with the State of Washington is to ensure that a Washington citizen’s votes are protected in this and future elections.”

However, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has contested these findings, pointing out “several glaring deficiencies.”

“This list includes United States citizens and is not reliable. Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot,” he asserted.

This investigation in Washington follows an earlier incident where the DOJ provided California with a list of alleged noncitizens registered to vote, requesting that state officials flag any ballots from the individuals on that list for additional scrutiny.