Hobbs defends WA election integrity ahead of federal noncitizen voting briefing

SEATTLE - With midterm elections just eight days away, federal officials are gathering in Seattle Monday to brief the public on findings related to alleged noncitizen voter registration across Washington state.

What's next:

The U.S. Attorney's Office held a briefing at the federal courthouse in Seattle on Monday afternoon. 

The announcement comes as voter eligibility faces heightened national scrutiny. On Good Day Seattle, we asked Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs about the federal government's sudden focus on voter registration, the potential for vote sequestration, early turnout trends and why voters are being urged to mail their ballots immediately.

WA Secretary Hobbs weighs in on upcoming federal briefing

With federal prosecutors making an announcement about illegal voting in Washington state on Monday afternoon, we asked Secretary Hobbs what he expects to come from the announcement.

"Well, I really don't know, so we'll be watching very closely for that," said Hobbs. "I do also know that the DOJ is sending election observers to King County. We're waiting to hear the details on that, but that's what we're hearing at this particular moment in time."

WA election officials address noncitizen voting claims

Addressing the growing national debate and local questions over voter eligibility, we asked whether the U.S. Attorney's Office had reached out to state election officials regarding alleged noncitizen voter registration in Washington. 

By the numbers:

"Yeah, they have – all over every state that they've made it a big issue, but the numbers just don't pan out," said Hobbs. "If we go back to 1982 to 2025, we've only had 15 incidences of noncitizens voting – that's 0.0000006%. But versus their USPS change, it's 20,000 people that are disenfranchised that didn't get their vote counted. Now, obviously, we're willing to work with our federal partners to help with easing fraud. But right now, they have been rather aggressive and adversarial. They have pulled back on support for our office in terms of cybersecurity and support from Homeland Security, and hyperconcentrate on this particular issue that doesn't really get a lot of bang for the buck. We'll see what they have to say."

Hobbs addresses political narrative behind federal focus

Big picture view:

"Well, I mean, there's different theories out there, right? So one theory is that, well, it's because it looks like the Republicans may lose both the House and Senate," said Hobbs. "So this sets up a narrative to say, look, if we just would have had all these laws in place, if the executive orders were in place, that the SAVE Act would have been passed, this wouldn't have happened." 

"If you look out through history, parties in power who are in the White House usually don't do well in the midterms. But I want the voters to know out there, rest assured, Washingtonians know that in this state, your vote, your election system is secure, accessible and transparent," continued Hobbs. "If you have any questions, visit your county auditor, call us, let us know. Visit votewa.gov to track your ballot."

Could President Trump ask for WA ballots to be sequestered?

"The federal government, the president, can say everything they want. But the bottom line is, we have a constitutional right to run elections the way we see fit," said Hobbs. "The DOJ has tried to sue on behalf of the president on various issues – especially on our voter data list – they have lost every single time."

"In fact, there's 27 dismissals that the DOJ has received, not a single win for the Department of Justice. And we've won all of our court cases, thanks to Nick Brown working with us, our attorney general. We've won all of our cases against the federal government."

Early voter turnout: What Washington’s latest numbers show

Local perspective:

Out of the 5.1 million ballots sent to Washington voters, more than 700,000 have already been turned in—a turnout rate of around 15%. When asked what these early returns indicate about voter participation, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs highlighted an encouraging trend in how voters are submitting their ballots:

"Well, actually, let's dive in a little bit more with these numbers," said Hobbs. "We're actually above about a percent or so above the number of ballots returned at this particular moment time in 2022. So, it sounds like either the turnout is going to be higher or people listening to our message about putting that ballot or returning the ballot early, or both – who knows?"

"Here's another great number for you: 68% of those ballots returned have been [at] a drop box," Hobbs continued. "So that is wonderful numbers for me, because then I know those ballots are guaranteed to come into the county."

Why Oct. 26 is the final recommended day to mail your ballot

Why you should care:

"Well, that's because the United States Postal Service changed the way they process their postmark," said Hobbs. "So in the past, we could guarantee that as long as you got your ballot before the carrier got there, it'd be postmarked. That no longer applies, and so sometimes it takes three, five, seven days to get a postmark – that is why we really encourage everyone to use a drop box."

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