Federal officials to release data on noncitizen voter allegations in WA

Thank you, Adam. Happening today ahead of the midterm election, federal leaders are concerned about illegal voting by non-citizens. They've scheduled a news conference in Seattle for today. Fox 13's Taylor Winkle is live outside of King County Election Headquarters in Renton with more. Taylor, good morning. They're expected to release new data on illegal voting, correct? Yeah, that's right. So they say that new data pertains to what they are calling an issue of non-citizens being registered to vote here in Washington. And that's about all we know right now about that announcement from the feds. It is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal or state elections in the United States. And this announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office about illegal voting here comes as the Trump administration says thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote and have illegally voted in America's elections. On Friday, the Justice Department demanded that California County registrars sequester the ballots of roughly 20,000 voters, alleging they were sent to non-citizens. The DOJ is asking for specific information on those voters, including their social security numbers. Here in Washington, some people are automatically registered to vote when they get or renew their driver's license. The state says that system is tied to proof of citizenship. The Secretary of State's website notes if a voter's registration information does not match the records on file with Department of Licensing or Social Security Administration, they may be provisionally registered, but their ballot will not be counted until they provide valid identification. In a March press release, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said voting fraud is incredibly rare. He said there have been 15 cases of non-citizen voting in Washington between 1982 and 2025. The Pew Research Center reports more than 28 million people were living in the US in 2023 who were not US citizens. And you can compare that to the 16 people the Justice Department recently announced they've charged across the entire United States for election crimes pertaining to illegal voting and citizenship. So today's press conference, it's scheduled for 2 p.m. at the federal courthouse. We are going to be looking into that promised data and let you know what we find. For Now Reporting Live in Renton, I'm Taylor Winkle, Fox 13 News. Thank you, Taylor. Just eight days to election day and the Secretary of State's office has shared some new data on early voting. Of the 5.1 million ballots mailed out in Washington, more than 700,000 have already been turned in. That's about 15 percent. And an important reminder for you, today is the last day to register online to vote. After today, registration must be in person at an election office before 8 p.m. on November 3rd. Now, if you plan to send your ballot by mail, election officials say you should do it by tomorrow.