Justice Department Asks Washington State to Set Aside Ballots From 400 Suspected Noncitizens

The Trump administration on Monday turned its attention to another Democratic-led state ahead of the midterm elections, asking Washington to set aside ballots that it says may be cast by noncitizens in next week's vote.

Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, asked the state's secretary of state to check a list of more than 400 registrants the Justice Department believes are not citizens and to sequester any ballots they submit. In a news release, Floyd said his office had identified over 400 noncitizens who are registered and have voted in multiple elections. "This is only the tip of the iceberg," he said, adding that investigators would keep looking for people "committing crimes by voting illegally."

A letter sent to Washington election officials, which was shared with NBC News, gave the state 24 hours to compare the list against its citizenship records. Washington has more than 5 million registered voters. Floyd noted that the state declined earlier this year to hand over its unredacted voter rolls to the Justice Department, which he said made his work slower. In a radio interview with conservative host Jason Rantz published Monday, he said his office had checked lists of permanent legal residents, such as green card holders, against voter registration records.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs' office is reviewing the list, spokesperson Helen Smith said by email. Hobbs, however, criticized the request. "We take our responsibility to protect voter information seriously and will only respond to requests that follow due process," he said in a statement. He added that the state had seen what happened in California and did not want Washingtonians harassed, and argued that the timing, one week before the general election, was meant to cast "unfounded suspicion on the results."

Noncitizens do occasionally appear on voter rolls, but few actually vote. Doing so is a crime that leaves a paper trail and can bring serious penalties, including deportation. Newly naturalized citizens are often flagged as noncitizens in voting records, largely because no comprehensive list of U.S. citizens exists.

The Washington request came on the same day the administration suffered a legal setback in California. Last week the Justice Department said it believed 20,000 noncitizens were on California's voter rolls, gave the state 48 hours to review its list and urged it to sequester those ballots. The administration then sued to stop the state from counting them. On Monday, an appeals court ruled against the administration, saying the Justice Department had not given the lower court a chance to review its claims. Los Angeles County election officials said in a legal filing that the department's list appeared to draw on old voting lists and included many apparent U.S. citizens whose registrations listed U.S. birthplaces.

NBC News first reported last week that the Justice Department was weighing similar requests to other states that run mail elections and send ballots to all registered voters.

The administration has also sought to involve itself in ballot counting elsewhere. Last week, at President Donald Trump's suggestion, it sued Alaska over a Senate candidate who shares a first and last name with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. The suit asks the court to block certification of the race unless the Republican senator wins re-election.

Election experts told NBC News last week that the administration's election lawsuits stand on shaky ground, because nothing in federal law gives the Justice Department authority to intervene in election certification or ballot counting.