More than 400 noncitizens found on Washington state voter rolls, Justice Department says

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday that investigators have identified more than 400 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in Washington state, some of whom have cast ballots in multiple elections dating back decades.

According to the U.S. attorney's offices for the Eastern and Western districts of Washington, many on the list are green card holders — people with legal immigration status and permanent residency, but not U.S. citizenship.

Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington said in a statement: 'We have identified over 400 noncitizens 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.'

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Floyd said investigators identified hundreds of noncitizen voters by reviewing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) records, which showed that some people who applied for certain benefits had also voted.

Floyd said that while some individuals voted only once or three times, others voted as many as 27 times. In total, his office counted approximately 1,500 instances of noncitizens casting ballots. He said the earliest moment they have is 1984 — that is, some people have been voting since the late 1980s or early 1990s, predating Washington's transition to a vote-by-mail system.

However, Floyd said he had not checked whether any of the individuals voted in the upcoming midterms, explaining that he did not want to 'interfere with the current election'. He also commented that the number could represent only a fraction of the broader population, because the list includes only individuals who sought certain benefits in Washington state.

Federal officials said many green card holders were registered to vote without their knowledge through Washington's Motor Voter program, which integrates voter registration into the state's Department of Licensing. '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 notice said.

According to the Washington secretary of state's website, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote only if they provide proof of U.S. citizenship during a driver's license or ID card registration process.

According to the DOJ notice, federal officials are asking Washington state to set aside ballots cast by the identified individuals until their citizenship status can otherwise be confirmed. 'Washington is now on notice that noncitizens are voting. It is up to the state to take action to make sure that they are not allowing these noncitizens to vote illegally,' the notice said.

Officials warned that voting as a noncitizen can have serious consequences for those seeking to become U.S. citizens. Potential criminal charges include making false statements in a naturalization application, and some individuals could also face charges for fraudulent voter registration.

The move builds on the DOJ's legal action against Los Angeles County, where it has sought to set aside roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to individuals whose citizenship status is in question. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital that dozens of noncitizens have also been arrested nationwide in a major voter fraud crackdown, of whom at least 18 had voted in a federal election.