Federal attorneys in Seattle alleged Monday that hundreds of ineligible Washington residents — non-citizens — are voting in elections.

“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 is the interim U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. He joined First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano of the Eastern District of Washington at a press conference Monday afternoon. They claimed to have found 405 non-citizens who have voted in Washington state, accounting for more than 1,500 illegal ballots cast. They did not indicate the timeframe for these violations, and alleged there are more to be found.

There are more than 5.1 million people registered to vote in Washington state.

Floyd said that without their help, the state of Washington “does not have the capacity or the will” to check if non-citizens are voting in local elections. Echoing Trump administration rhetoric, he said Washington state has refused to hand over its voter database to the White House. His office has been going through records voter by voter to determine if non-citizens are voting.

According to a letter the attorneys sent to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, they received a list of names from the Department of Homeland Security. Those names were non-citizens suspected of voting. They allege some have voted for two decades, more than a couple dozen times. Floyd noted it is not difficult to go to votewa.gov, type in somebody’s name, and see if they have voted.

Floyd added this has not been an immigration enforcement effort. He said he would like to eventually look at potential double voting or instances of deceased people returning ballots.

Floyd and Serrano said that because a “substantial number” of non-citizens have been registered to vote in Washington, they receive ballots in the mail, giving them the impression they can legally vote. They claim to have heard from green card holders who were unknowingly registered to vote in Washington state via the Motor Voter program.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs on the issue

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs recently addressed the issue of non-citizens voting in local elections.

Speaking on the Oct. 22 episode of “Inside Olympia,” he said such violations are rare. He also said the state and county elections officials are aware people can be mistakenly registered to vote, so voter rolls are consistently maintained to remove them.

“If you look back all the way [from] 1982... to 2025, there have been 15 instances of non-citizens voting in the state of Washington,” Hobbs said. “That is .0000006%, so very few. ... There are probably a few non-citizens that are on the voter rolls. That in itself is not illegal.”

If such non-citizens actually cast a vote, they could be charged with a class C felony, resulting in fines, prison time, and deportation.

In a statement Monday, Hobbs said, “The timing of this request — one week before the General Election — is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results.” His office said one of the 400 records in the DOJ letter dates from as far back as 1994.

Hobbs said a much more consequential and current issue for voters is cost-saving changes by the U.S. Postal Service, which resulted in more than 20,000 ballots being rejected in the August primary for late postmarks, a 32% increase from the primary in 2024.

Both Floyd and Serrano were appointed to their positions by President Donald Trump, who has often alleged widespread voter fraud without evidence. The president has targeted vote-by-mail programs, calling their security into question.

Neither Floyd or Serrano has been confirmed by the Senate, as is required for the job.

As KUOW has previously reported, the Trump administration has avoided confirmations for such federal positions by appointing people under an “interim” status or by giving them the title of “first assistant.” This has allowed Trump’s candidates to perform these roles without checks and balances. Floyd’s placement is currently in dispute, and has pulled Serrano into the drama.

Federal judges appointed Roger Rogoff in the role of U.S. attorney for the Western District after the Trump administration made no official nomination for Senate approval. The administration has fought this move to keep Floyd in place.

Dyer Oxley and Amy Radil are reporters with KUOW. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/26/federal-attorneys-allege-hundreds-of-non-citizens-are-voting-in-washington-elections/