SEATTLE — The Trump administration on Monday asked Washington state to set aside any ballots received from more than 400 people it suspects registered to vote without U.S. citizenship, the Associated Press reported.

In a letter to the Washington Secretary of State's Office, the Justice Department said it had identified 1,500 votes cast by the over 400 people in prior elections, AP reported. It asked the state to set aside any ballots the people might cast in next month's midterm elections until state officials can confirm they are legally eligible to vote. The claim is the department's allegation; AP did not report that the state had confirmed it. The state has more than 5 million registered voters.

Source: Associated Press (via KXL)

"We are asking the state to set aside those ballots until we can confirm they are legal voters," Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said in a news conference, according to AP. Much of the list was built based on "recent contacts" with suspected noncitizens, Floyd said, because federal officers are now routinely checking to see if the people they interact with are registered to vote, and his office wants to compare that list against the state's voter information.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs was reviewing the administration's demand, AP reported. His office noted it had received about 60 subpoenas from the Justice Department since last month seeking information about voters. "We take our responsibility to protect voter information seriously and will only respond to requests that follow due process," Hobbs said in an emailed statement to AP. "We see what's happening in California and don't want Washingtonians to be harassed."

Democracy Docket, reporting independently on the same demand, said Hobbs rejected the DOJ's claims in an interview with FOX 13 in Seattle, saying states have a constitutional right to run elections and that there have been only 15 documented instances of illegal voting in the state since 1982. Democracy Docket noted Floyd did not disclose evidence for the claims at the press conference, and that the demand arrived eight days before Election Day.

Source: Democracy Docket