Hobbs calls DOJ fraud list garbage

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has clashed with the U.S. Department of Justice over a list of alleged noncitizen voters, dismissing the federal filing as a "dumpster fire disguised as a legal document." The dispute erupted during a press conference in Olympia on Thursday, less than a week before the 2026 midterm elections. Hobbs argued that the timing and the data provided by federal prosecutors are flawed and politically motivated.

The conflict began when U.S. Attorneys Neil Floyd and Pete Serrano sent a joint letter to Hobbs' office. Representing the districts of Western and Eastern Washington, respectively, the attorneys alleged that they identified 400 people illegally registered to vote. They claimed many on the list hold green cards and demanded that the Secretary of State not count their ballots. Hobbs rejected the demand, stating that the public nature of the accusation amounted to political theater rather than standard collaboration.

Hobbs said state staff conducted an initial review of the 403-name document and found major discrepancies. He noted that many individuals on the list were not registered or were on inactive status. Several names appeared as duplicates, and some individuals had U.S. citizenship confirmed through state birth certificates. The Secretary of State also pointed to clerical errors in the federal filing, including a misspelling of voter rolls and the incorrect listing of Election Day as Nov. 2 instead of Nov. 3.

Hobbs challenged the federal narrative by citing state election records spanning 43 years. From 1982 to 2025, Washington documented only 15 instances of noncitizens voting, a rate of roughly 0.000006% of all ballots cast. Between 2006 and 2025, the state identified just five such cases. "The federal government tries to [make] claims about voter fraud, but the numbers, they just don't pan out," Hobbs said. He emphasized that while noncitizen voting is a Class C felony, the scale of the problem does not match the federal allegations.

The Secretary of State expressed frustration that federal law enforcement focused on voter rolls instead of addressing a recent cyberattack on the state's online ballot drop box locator. He argued that federal partners typically work with state officials months before an election, not days before. Hobbs also noted that approximately 20,000 ballots went uncounted in the primary due to U.S. Postal Service postmark delays, an issue he believes deserves more federal attention.

King County Elections Director Julie Wise spoke alongside Hobbs regarding the state's motor voter system. She explained that accidental registrations are rare and usually result from clerical errors or misunderstandings. Wise stated that the system requires proof of citizenship for automatic registration via enhanced driver's licenses, while standard applications require legal attestations. "They may be on the voter rolls, but don't actually vote," Wise said. She projected a 75% voter turnout in King County, equating to roughly 1.1 million returned ballots, and urged voters to use the county's 100 secure drop boxes.

Hobbs concluded that Washington has established legal mechanisms for challenging voter eligibility through county auditors and prosecutors. He said that blanket purges based on unverified federal lists violate state and federal law. "The right thing to do is maybe work with us months ahead, versus giving us a list one week before the election, which is against federal law," Hobbs said.