Midterm Dispute: DOJ Presses States on Voter Rolls

President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that he would accept the outcome of the November 3 midterm elections if the process was honest. He made the remark to reporters when asked if he would respect the results should his Republican Party lose control of Congress. "I will if they’re honest elections," Trump said.

The comments followed a move by the Department of Justice to expand legal challenges against state election officials. The DOJ sent a letter to Washington threatening legal action if the state did not remove approximately 400 people from its voter rolls. The department claimed these individuals were not US citizens.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs described the timing as an attempt to cast suspicion on the upcoming vote. The letter gave the state until Wednesday at noon local time to respond or face emergency relief. Hobbs said in a statement that his office was reviewing the list but had already identified errors based on outdated records. He noted the DOJ was citing a 1994 record to claim one person was a noncitizen.

Hobbs emphasized that Washington elections are secure and that noncitizen voting is rare. He pointed out that every voter signs a declaration of eligibility on their ballot return envelope. In late September, Washington won a lawsuit arguing it did not have to hand over its entire voter list to the DOJ, joining other Democratic-led states that had prevailed in similar disputes.

The DOJ continues to push its narrative that large numbers of noncitizens are voting in Democratic-led states, a claim bipartisan voting rights groups have dismissed. Last week, the department filed a lawsuit against Alaska. It sought to block certification of the state's Senate race if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan did not win. The DOJ argued that allowing a different candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot was unfair, although the ballot clearly identifies the incumbent.

Trump said on Friday that he personally instructed the DOJ to file the Alaska suit. The race is one of several where Democrats could gain seats and force Republicans to lose control of the Senate. Earlier this month, California received a letter from the DOJ demanding a review of a list of about 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters. California authorities said many on that list appeared to be born in the US, making them eligible.

The DOJ also plans to send a record number of election observers to the country on November 3. Local officials in New Jersey and California have objected to the deployment. Historically, the department has focused its observers on areas with a history of civil rights violations or obstacles for minority voters.