DOJ asks Washington to hold 405 ballots, but its letter says some voters may be citizens

The Justice Department wants Washington state election officials to hold back ballots from 405 voters it says are not citizens. Its own letter admits some of them may be. Three groups asked a federal judge in Seattle on Monday, the day before Election Day, for an emergency order blocking the demand ¹.

The October 26 letter went to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. It says the Department of Homeland Security identified more than 400 people registered to vote who are not citizens, and who cast more than 1,500 ballots between them, some as recently as the August primary ¹. It says they "may have subsequently naturalized" ¹.

The letter asks counties not to check the signature on any ballot from someone on the list, and not to count it, until that person's citizenship is settled. It warns that otherwise the United States "will have no choice but to seek emergency relief" ¹.

What Washington found

Hobbs replied on October 28 that a preliminary check showed the list "includes United States citizens and is not reliable" ¹. The Justice Department sent a PDF of a printed spreadsheet. It left out voter ID numbers and addresses, which officials need to match a name to a registration. One record dates to 1994, his office said ¹.

State elections director Stuart Holmes said in a court declaration that the state counted 403 unique people, not 405. At least 62 had never been sent a ballot, because their registrations were canceled or inactive or the state could not find them ¹.

Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, said agents question noncitizen detainees and people crossing the border about voting. They then check the answers against immigration databases and voter rolls. "We are having to do this essentially one person at a time," he said ². The lawsuit quotes him as saying "there might be a lot of John Does" on the list ¹.

The court fight

OneAmerica Votes, the Latino Community Fund of Washington State and the United Food and Commercial Workers union sued October 30. They say the Constitution leaves elections to the states and that no federal law lets prosecutors order ballots held back ¹. They also say a green-card holder who later became a citizen may still look like a noncitizen in federal records ¹.

They asked U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead for an emergency order on Monday. As of Monday evening, no hearing had been scheduled ¹. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said it does not comment on pending litigation ¹.

unlawful intimidation of election officials, plain and simple.

Washington is the third state where the Justice Department has gone to court or threatened to this fall over how votes are counted. The Supreme Court rejected its California request Monday evening, and a judge dismissed its Alaska case Sunday. So far, every court to rule has turned the government down ¹.

What happens next is uncertain. Washington votes by mail, and ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted for days afterward. A ruling, a promised second list of names, or a Justice Department lawsuit could all come during the count ¹.

That matters because a voter on this list may never learn that a ballot was set aside. The groups say many of their members are naturalized citizens in that position ¹. The pattern is that a government list, admitted to be imperfect, would decide whose vote is held.

The Record

1. Oct 26, 2026DOJ letter to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs asks Washington to hold ballots from 405 alleged noncitizens ¹.
2. Oct 28, 2026Hobbs replies that the list includes U.S. citizens and is not reliable ¹.
3. Oct 30, 2026OneAmerica Votes, the Latino Community Fund and a labor union sue in federal court in Seattle ¹.
4. Nov 2, 2026The groups ask Judge Jamal N. Whitehead for an emergency order; the Supreme Court rejects a similar DOJ request in California ¹.

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<h2>DOJ asks Washington to hold 405 ballots, but its letter says some voters may be citizens</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/doj-asks-washington-to-hold-405-ballots-but-its-letter-says-some-voters-may-be-citizens">The GOP Files</a> on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.</em></p> <p>The Justice Department wants Washington state election officials to hold back ballots from 405 voters it says are not citizens. Its own letter admits some of them may be. Three groups asked a federal judge in Seattle on Monday, the day before Election Day, for an emergency order blocking the demand .</p> <p>The October 26 letter went to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. It says the Department of Homeland Security identified more than 400 people registered to vote who are not citizens, and who cast more than 1,500 ballots between them, some as recently as the August primary . It says they &quot;may have subsequently naturalized&quot; .</p> <p>The letter asks counties not to check the signature on any ballot from someone on the list, and not to count it, until that person&#39;s citizenship is settled. It warns that otherwise the United States &quot;will have no choice but to seek emergency relief&quot; .</p> <h2>What Washington found</h2> <p>Hobbs replied on October 28 that a preliminary check showed the list &quot;includes United States citizens and is not reliable&quot; . The Justice Department sent a PDF of a printed spreadsheet. It left out voter ID numbers and addresses, which officials need to match a name to a registration. One record dates to 1994, his office said .</p> <p>State elections director Stuart Holmes said in a court declaration that the state counted 403 unique people, not 405. At least 62 had never been sent a ballot, because their registrations were canceled or inactive or the state could not find them .</p> <p>Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, said agents question noncitizen detainees and people crossing the border about voting. They then check the answers against immigration databases and voter rolls. &quot;We are having to do this essentially one person at a time,&quot; he said . The lawsuit quotes him as saying &quot;there might be a lot of John Does&quot; on the list .</p> <h2>The court fight</h2> <p>OneAmerica Votes, the Latino Community Fund of Washington State and the United Food and Commercial Workers union sued October 30. They say the Constitution leaves elections to the states and that no federal law lets prosecutors order ballots held back . They also say a green-card holder who later became a citizen may still look like a noncitizen in federal records .</p> <p>They asked U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead for an emergency order on Monday. As of Monday evening, no hearing had been scheduled . The U.S. Attorney&#39;s Office in Seattle said it does not comment on pending litigation .</p> <blockquote><p>unlawful intimidation of election officials, plain and simple.</p><p>&mdash; Abha Khanna, partner, Elias Law Group, attorney for the groups suing</p></blockquote> <p>Washington is the third state where the Justice Department has gone to court or threatened to this fall over how votes are counted. The Supreme Court rejected its California request Monday evening, and a judge dismissed its Alaska case Sunday. So far, every court to rule has turned the government down .</p> <p>What happens next is uncertain. Washington votes by mail, and ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted for days afterward. A ruling, a promised second list of names, or a Justice Department lawsuit could all come during the count .</p> <p>That matters because a voter on this list may never learn that a ballot was set aside. The groups say many of their members are naturalized citizens in that position . The pattern is that a government list, admitted to be imperfect, would decide whose vote is held.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/doj-asks-washington-to-hold-405-ballots-but-its-letter-says-some-voters-may-be-citizens">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/doj-asks-washington-to-hold-405-ballots-but-its-letter-says-some-voters-may-be-citizens.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Newsweek, “Trump DOJ Targets 405 Ballots. Some May Belong to U.S. Citizens” (2026-11-03). newsweek.com/trump-doj-targets-405-ballots-some-may-belong-t
2. KOMO News, “Department of Justice claims it found 400 non-citizens on Washington voter rolls” (2026-10-26). komonews.com/news/local/department-of-justice-washington-sta

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