THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Federal prosecutors say they identified 405 suspected noncitizen registrants in Washington associated with more than 1,500 past votes.
- The Justice Department wants ballots associated with those individuals set aside until eligibility is verified.
- Secretary of State Steve Hobbs challenges the federal assertions, including the relevance of records dating back decades.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Federal prosecutors have delivered Washington state a rather unpleasant election-season surprise. They say they’ve identified 405 people registered to vote despite allegedly lacking U.S. citizenship.
Those registrations, the government says, are associated with more than 1,500 previous votes. Not exactly the kind of spreadsheet a secretary of state wants landing on his desk a week before the midterms.
At a Monday Seattle news conference, acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd described the findings as serious and warned they might be “only the tip of the iceberg.”
Now there’s a phrase guaranteed to grab attention when you’re discussing voter rolls.
The Justice Department wants Washington election authorities to set aside ballots connected to its list while officials determine citizenship and eligibility.
Washington conducts elections largely by mail, and the November 3 election is fast approaching. The state has more than five million registered voters.
But Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is not accepting the federal allegations as established. His office questions the data and the timing of the request. One record reportedly dates to 1994.
1994! Bill Clinton was president and the Internet was still a novelty for most Americans. Apparently a voting record from the dial-up era is now part of an election-season courtroom controversy.
The old date doesn’t automatically disprove the federal claims. It does raise questions about whether the underlying records establish anyone’s current eligibility. Citizenship can change; an apparent record mismatch is not itself proof of unlawful voting.
Federal prosecutors complained that limitations on access to state election data had complicated the investigation. State officials defended their practices and warned against confusing voters.
If noncitizens have voted unlawfully, the public deserves to know how it happened.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- KUOW — federal allegations and state response
- Oregon Public Broadcasting — Washington election investigation
