On Oct. 26, 2026 Justice Department sent Washington official Steve Hobbs a request to sequester ballots from 400 voters before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Critics say the DOJ list is unverified and flawed, risking disenfranchisement of eligible voters and undermining voting rights.
Steve Hobbs said the DOJ provided no details on how the list was compiled.
A Homeland Security whistleblower called the list-building process flawed and likely to misclassify citizens.
Center
Judges Dismiss Suits
On Oct. 26 2026, Justice Department mailed Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs a request to sequester ballots from 400 non-citizen voters before Nov. 3 midterms.
Hobbs said DOJ released the list at a press conference before election, which included U.S. citizens and inactive registrations.
U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said the 400 cast about 1,500 votes, a sample.
Judges have dismissed DOJ voter-roll suits, blocking a request to halt California’s 20,000-ballot count.
Right
Non-Citizen Voter Claim
On Oct. 26 2026, the Justice Department mailed Washington Secretary Steve Hobbs a request to sequester ballots from 400 alleged non-citizen voters before the Nov. 3 midterm election.
J. Christian Adams blamed Washington’s automatic voter-registration system for allowing non-citizens onto the rolls.
State officials said the DOJ request exceeded federal authority.
U.S. District Judge David Carter denied the request, prompting an appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
Blindspot
Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said the 400 individuals on the DOJ list had cast roughly 1,500 votes and represented a sample of suspected non-citizen voting.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Left-leaning coverage.
History
On June 25 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, struck down three provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070, citing federal preemption. The ruling left only the provision allowing police to check immigration status on reasonable suspicion. Decades later, a 2026 federal request to purge voter rolls revived the same tension between state enforcement and federal oversight.
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Flawed Voter List
On Oct. 26, 2026 Justice Department sent Washington official Steve Hobbs a request to sequester ballots from 400 voters before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Critics say the DOJ list is unverified and flawed, risking disenfranchisement of eligible voters and undermining voting rights.
Steve Hobbs said the DOJ provided no details on how the list was compiled.
A Homeland Security whistleblower called the list-building process flawed and likely to misclassify citizens.
