The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it suspects more than 400 people of being illegally registered to vote in Washington state.
On Monday, the department said it called for two U.S. Attorney’s Offices to segregate ballots cast by individuals in this group so that their citizenship status can be verified.
The DOJ provided the state a list of these individuals, most of whom are lawful permanent residents or “green card” holders. This means they have legal immigration status in the United States, but they are not U.S. citizens and are therefore not permitted to vote in federal elections.
“We have heard from green card holders who were registered against their knowledge via the Washington Motor Voter program. Then they receive a ballot in the mail and assume they are legally registered – that simply is not the case,” the DOJ’s press statement read.
The Justice Department warned noncitizens who discover they’re registered to vote to report the issue to the Secretary of State’s Office. Defendants who knowingly lie about their immigration status on voter registration applications can face criminal charges and may face repercussions when later attempting to become naturalized U.S. citizens.
“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 told Fox News that investigators used U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to compile the list of voters. He added that while some individuals voted only once or three times in past elections, others voted as many as 27 times.
“Free and fair elections should be the concern of every United States citizen. Our purpose in sharing this data with the Secretary of State is to protect the sanctity of each citizen’s vote,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano for the Eastern District of Washington stated. “Our goal in sharing this information with the State of Washington is to ensure that a Washington citizens’ votes are protected in this and future elections.”
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs pushed back against the findings, however, claiming “several glaring deficiencies.”
“This list includes United States citizens and is not reliable. Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot,” he said.
The Washington state probe comes after the DOJ sent California a list of suspected noncitizens registered to vote earlier this year, asking state officials to separate any ballots they receive from the people on the list for further review.
