‘This is all a fear tactic’: Gee and Ursula back Hobbs as he pushes back on federal noncitizen voter list

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is pushing back on federal prosecutors’ claim that hundreds of noncitizens are registered to vote in the state. KIRO hosts Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin are on his side, and they think the timing is suspicious.

The U.S. attorney’s offices for the Western and Eastern districts of Washington said 405 noncitizens are registered to vote in the state and have cast more than 1,500 ballots over several decades, according to “The Jason Rantz Show” on Seattle Red. On Monday, prosecutors asked Hobbs to set aside the ballots of everyone on their list until each person’s citizenship can be confirmed. Many of the people identified so far are green card holders, who can live and work in the U.S. legally but can’t vote.

Hobbs’ office has said the state recorded 15 cases of noncitizen voting between 1982 and 2025, according to Seattle Red.

In his response to prosecutors, Hobbs called the list “deeply flawed.” He wrote that it includes people the state already knows are U.S. citizens, and that an early review found many people on it aren’t currently registered or are listed as inactive voters. He also said prosecutors offered no individual proof that the people on the list are ineligible.

“Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot,” Hobbs wrote.

Ursula: ‘Call me suspicious’

On “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Ursula noted that ballots went out weeks ago, but prosecutors waited until about a week before the Nov. 3 election to raise the issue publicly.

She was glad Hobbs pushed back instead of setting the ballots aside, especially when the list seemed so rushed.

“It was almost as if there was this pressure to let’s do it before the election, and that’s not just happening in our state,” Ursula said.

She added that any real evidence should be followed up on.

“Show the proof, and if there is proof, then absolutely go after it,” Ursula said. “But call me suspicious given the timing, for sure.”

Prosecutors defend the list

Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd told “The Jason Rantz Show” the investigation began after Hobbs refused the Trump administration’s request for Washington’s full voter rolls. A federal judge in Seattle dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking those rolls in September, according to Seattle Red.

Floyd said many of the people on the list told investigators they didn’t know they were registered. He traced many of those registrations to the state’s motor voter system, which signs people up to vote when they get a driver’s license.

He said he expects to find more.

“I’m confident in saying there are thousands of people that are voting that are not citizens,” Floyd said.

Gee: ‘It don’t work with Secretary Steve Hobbs’

Gee compared challenging Hobbs to challenging a Seahawks speedster to a footrace.

“This Steve Hobbs, he is the person in the family that you call, and he’s got everything buttoned up, T’s crossed, i’s dotted,” Gee said.

He argued that claims like this haven’t held up in court.

“This is all a fear tactic,” Gee said. “So the Jim Walshes of the world, any time they want to do this, this is their play. But it don’t work with Secretary Steve Hobbs.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.