U.S. citizens included on DOJ list of 400 alleged noncitizens, Washington says

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According to reporting by CBS News US National, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs told two federal prosecutors that "many" U.S. citizens were included on a Justice Department list of suspected noncitizens.

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Washington — Washington state's chief election official told the Justice Department on Wednesday that a list of 400 people the federal government alleges are noncitizens who are registered to vote in the state is "not reliable" and contained "many" people who are U.S. citizens.

Steve Hobbs, the Washington secretary of state, was responding to a letter from two federal prosecutors in the state calling for ballots received from the suspected noncitizens to be set aside and not counted until their citizenship status could be verified.

Prosecutors Neil Floyd and Pete Serrano sent their letter to Hobbs on Monday, just over one week before the Nov. 3 elections, which will determine which party controls the House and Senate. Voting has been underway in Washington since mid-October, and more than 1.3 million mail ballots had been returned as of Wednesday.

But Hobbs said a preliminary investigation of the government's list found that "many of the persons on your list are United States citizens." It also contained records for a "significant number" of people who were not currently registered to vote in Washington or whose registrations are inactive, according to the secretary of state.

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Information in this article was compiled directly from records provided by CBS News US National. Access the primary source document at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-citizens-included-on-justice-department-list-of-alleged-noncitizens-washington-says/. Reporting and editorial review conducted by the USA NOW News Desk.