Ongoing storyline

Election certification dispute

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2 storiesOct 22, 2026 to Oct 27, 2026

What's happening

The Justice Department has asked Washington state election officials to set aside ballots from people it says are noncitizens until eligibility can be confirmed, saying it identified more than 400 such registered voters.(source: Oct 27: DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state) Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said the 400 are only the tip of the iceberg and that investigators identified over 1,500 ballots cast, while many on the list are lawful permanent residents or green card holders, according to the U.S. attorney's offices.(source: Oct 27: DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state) Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the timing of the request one week before the General Election is intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results.(source: Oct 27: DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state)

Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters there are hypothetical 'doomsday' scenarios in which the Justice Department could block states from certifying elections.(source: Oct 22: Blanche says DOJ could block election certification in 'doomsday scenario')
Blanche said it is never the department's intention to improperly interfere with elections or the certification process, and that he is not planning his days around the election to be somewhere to not certify.(source: Oct 22: Blanche says DOJ could block election certification in 'doomsday scenario')
Blanche said earlier in October that the DOJ plans to send 1,000 election monitors to polling places in every state on Election Day.(source: Oct 22: Blanche says DOJ could block election certification in 'doomsday scenario')
The following week, the Department of Justice said it identified more than 400 people it says are noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state.(source: Oct 27: DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state)
The DOJ asked Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to set aside any ballots from those voters until eligibility is confirmed.(source: Oct 27: DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state)

Summary of our earlier coverage: every sentence links to the stories it comes from, numbered as in the timeline below.

Oldest first

Each side's frame, story by story

Side	1Oct 22Blanche says DOJ could block election certification in 'doomsday scenario'	2Oct 27DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state
Conspiracy left	No coverage	No coverage
Far left	Warns Blanche's remark signals election interferenceRaw Story	No coverage
Left	No coverage	No coverage
Right	Says Blanche won't rule out DOJ actionFox News (Politics)	Says voter fraud is the tip of the icebergFox News (Politics)
Far right	No coverage	Alleges noncitizens cast over 1,500 ballotsBreitbart (Politics)
Conspiracy right	No coverage	Says DOJ found 400 noncitizens on voter rollsZeroHedge
Readers	Readers: no picks yet	Readers: no picks yet

Oct 22
Should the Justice Department be able to block states from certifying election results?
Join the debate on Blanche says DOJ could block election certification in 'doomsday scenario'
Oct 27
Should Washington state set aside ballots from voters whose citizenship is in question until eligibility is confirmed?
Join the debate on DOJ says over 400 noncitizens registered to vote in Washington state