Judge bars DOJ from pressing Washington state to toss about 400 voters' ballots

A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday temporarily barred the Justice Department from pressuring Washington state to set aside the ballots of about 400 voters. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead found that prosecutors had demanded the move, not simply asked for it. ¹

Prosecutors can ask a state to set ballots aside, the judge wrote, but they cannot compel one to do so. ¹

What the Justice Department did

On Oct. 26, eight days before Election Day, two federal prosecutors sent Secretary of State Steve Hobbs a list of the voters. Mail ballots were already coming back to county offices. ¹

The letter gave Hobbs 24 hours to review the list. It told him to have county officials hold off on checking signatures or counting those ballots until the voters' “citizenship can be determined.” ¹

From Channel GOPBash asks Blanche: Is your job helping Republicans?Todd Blanche · 223 plays · captioned, with the source named

Hobbs refused. Washington's review found the list unreliable, and at least 62 people on it had never been sent a ballot because their registrations were canceled, inactive or could not be found. ¹ According to Democracy Docket, Hobbs described the letter as a “dumpster fire disguised as a legal document rife with mistakes.” ²

Whitehead said Washington found that the list includes U.S. citizens who had already shown the state proof of citizenship. He also said nothing in the record suggests anyone on it has been charged with a crime. ¹

The government told the judge it had taken no further action since the Oct. 26 letter. Whitehead disagreed. He noted that a federal prosecutor said on the radio the department could send “39 letters to 39 auditors” and described the goal as keeping these ballots from being counted. ¹

What the order does

The order covers the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the two prosecutors who sent the letter. ¹

They cannot demand that any Washington election official remove specific voters from the rolls, refuse them ballots or leave their ballots uncounted. They also cannot threaten officials with prosecution or investigation for refusing. ¹

The government can still investigate and prosecute people who vote illegally, share information with election officials and ask for cooperation. Whitehead ordered nothing against President Donald Trump, who is also a defendant. He also denied the government's request to pause the order during an appeal. ¹

The judge found that union members, including naturalized citizens, face a real risk of being discouraged from voting or having their ballots set aside. The plaintiffs are OneAmerica Votes, the Latino Community Fund of Washington State and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. ¹

What happens next

The temporary restraining order lasts 14 days. The government has until Nov. 12 to oppose a longer-lasting order, and Whitehead will hear arguments Nov. 18. Counties must certify results by Nov. 24. ¹

The Justice Department and the plaintiffs' attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ¹

That matters because the ruling follows a Ninth Circuit decision last week in a California case. The appeals court found that a law against noncitizens voting in federal elections does not let the Justice Department “take charge of or intervene in a state's administration of an ongoing election.” The Supreme Court declined Monday to disturb that ruling. ¹

The Record

1. Oct 26, 2026Two federal prosecutors sent Washington's secretary of state a list of about 400 voters and gave him 24 hours to review it ¹
2. Oct 30, 2026Hobbs called the Justice Department's letter a 'dumpster fire' and said many people it flagged were citizens ²
3. Nov 5, 2026Judge Jamal Whitehead issued a 14-day temporary restraining order barring the Justice Department from demanding the ballots be set aside ¹

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Judge bars DOJ from pressing Washington state to toss about 400 voters&#39; ballots</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/judge-bars-doj-from-pressing-washington-state-to-toss-about-400-voters-ballots">The GOP Files</a> on Friday, November 6, 2026.</em></p> <p>A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday temporarily barred the Justice Department from pressuring Washington state to set aside the ballots of about 400 voters. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead found that prosecutors had demanded the move, not simply asked for it.</p> <p>Prosecutors can ask a state to set ballots aside, the judge wrote, but they cannot compel one to do so.</p> <h2>What the Justice Department did</h2> <p>On Oct. 26, eight days before Election Day, two federal prosecutors sent Secretary of State Steve Hobbs a list of the voters. Mail ballots were already coming back to county offices.</p> <p>The letter gave Hobbs 24 hours to review the list. It told him to have county officials hold off on checking signatures or counting those ballots until the voters&#39; “citizenship can be determined.”</p> <p>Hobbs refused. Washington&#39;s review found the list unreliable, and at least 62 people on it had never been sent a ballot because their registrations were canceled, inactive or could not be found. According to Democracy Docket, Hobbs described the letter as a “dumpster fire disguised as a legal document rife with mistakes.”</p> <p>Whitehead said Washington found that the list includes U.S. citizens who had already shown the state proof of citizenship. He also said nothing in the record suggests anyone on it has been charged with a crime.</p> <p>The government told the judge it had taken no further action since the Oct. 26 letter. Whitehead disagreed. He noted that a federal prosecutor said on the radio the department could send “39 letters to 39 auditors” and described the goal as keeping these ballots from being counted.</p> <h2>What the order does</h2> <p>The order covers the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the two prosecutors who sent the letter.</p> <p>They cannot demand that any Washington election official remove specific voters from the rolls, refuse them ballots or leave their ballots uncounted. They also cannot threaten officials with prosecution or investigation for refusing.</p> <p>The government can still investigate and prosecute people who vote illegally, share information with election officials and ask for cooperation. Whitehead ordered nothing against President Donald Trump, who is also a defendant. He also denied the government&#39;s request to pause the order during an appeal.</p> <p>The judge found that union members, including naturalized citizens, face a real risk of being discouraged from voting or having their ballots set aside. The plaintiffs are OneAmerica Votes, the Latino Community Fund of Washington State and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>The temporary restraining order lasts 14 days. The government has until Nov. 12 to oppose a longer-lasting order, and Whitehead will hear arguments Nov. 18. Counties must certify results by Nov. 24.</p> <p>The Justice Department and the plaintiffs&#39; attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p> <p>That matters because the ruling follows a Ninth Circuit decision last week in a California case. The appeals court found that a law against noncitizens voting in federal elections does not let the Justice Department “take charge of or intervene in a state&#39;s administration of an ongoing election.” The Supreme Court declined Monday to disturb that ruling.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/judge-bars-doj-from-pressing-washington-state-to-toss-about-400-voters-ballots">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/judge-bars-doj-from-pressing-washington-state-to-toss-about-400-voters-ballots.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. Courthouse News, “Feds barred from pressing Washington state to toss voters' ballots, for now” (2026-11-06). courthousenews.com/feds-barred-from-pressing-washington-stat
2. Democracy Docket, “DOJ ramps up intimidation in Washington after election chief laughs off error-riddled demand letter” (2026-10-30). democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-ramps-up-intimidation-in

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.