KHQ
Department of Justice asks Washington to set aside ballots during election
DOJ asks Washington to set aside noncitizen ballots
Key points (ReadOut summary)
- DOJ claims federal data shows hundreds of noncitizens registered to vote in Washington
- DOJ will provide a list of potentially illegal registrants and wants their ballots set aside until citizenship is confirmed
- Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs says DOJ's system often misidentifies citizens, exposing private data to 10-year retention
- Hobbs refuses to release protected voter data, citing state and federal law
- Federal law bars states from removing voters within 90 days of a federal election
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Secretary of State's office is working to respond to the Department of Justice after receiving a federal inquiry into Washington's voter rolls on Monday.