Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said Tuesday his office will continue to defend voters' private information after a federal court hearing in a U.S.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said Tuesday his office will continue to defend voters' private information after a federal court hearing in a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit seeking the state's full, unredacted voter registration list.
The hearing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington focused on the DOJ's request for Washington's complete voter roll, including information protected under state law.
In a statement released after the hearing, Hobbs said the case is part of the DOJ's broader effort to obtain voter rolls from states, noting the federal government has not prevailed in similar cases.
"Today's hearing marks the latest chapter in the DOJ's efforts to force states to turn over their voter rolls," Hobbs said. "To date, DOJ is 0-18 in these cases."
Hobbs said his office has offered all voter information that is publicly available while withholding information protected by state and federal privacy laws.
During an interview on Primary Election Day, with KOMO's Molly Shen, Hobbs said the state has provided names and addresses but declined to release private information such as the last four digits of Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and full birth dates.
He said the judge indicated during the hearing that the case appeared similar to 18 other lawsuits that had been dismissed but said no ruling had been issued.
Hobbs argued Washington's voter registration system complies with state law, the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act. He said the state conducts audits before and after elections, tests vote tabulation equipment, verifies signatures and uses databases to identify duplicate voting and deceased voters.
"If you have any questions at all, you should go to your county auditor," Hobbs said. "We have so much security and transparency."
Hobbs also encouraged Washington residents to vote in the primary election, saying turnout during midterm primaries typically ranges from 35% to 40%.
He urged voters not to mail ballots on Election Day because of U.S. Postal Service postmark changes and instead use official ballot drop boxes.
Hobbs also cited state election security statistics, saying about 90 million ballots have been cast in Washington over the past 20 years with only five cases of voter fraud, and that over 45 years there have been 15 cases of noncitizens voting, which he said amounted to 0.000006%.
"My office will continue defending Washington voters' private information while ensuring the integrity of our voter roll remains secure, accurate and trustworthy," Hobbs said.
