Washington Secretary of State criticizes Trump’s election integrity order

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs has a simple response to President Donald Trump’s executive order on election integrity: “Washington’s elections are secure, transparent, and built on the work of experienced state and local officials who are committed to upholding the integrity and accessibility of our election process.”

Trump signed an executive order this week that includes requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and directs election officials to record and verify citizenship. But it also requires all votes to be received by Election Day, which Hobbs noted “directly conflicts with Washington law.”

Hobbs, a Democrat, said the president’s order “could jeopardize” the process of preserving the “free, fair, and accessible voting system that Washingtonians have come to trust.”

“This executive order undermines decades of bipartisan work that has made Washington’s elections a national model,” he said in a statement. “The Office of the Secretary of State will work closely with the Washington Attorney General’s Office to defend our state’s authority under the U.S. Constitution and ensure that every eligible Washingtonian can continue to make their voice heard.”

WAGOP jumps into the mix

Concurrent to the president’s executive order, the Republican National Committee, with the partnership of the Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP), is asking secretaries of state “to provide detailed methodology on how each state maintains its voter databases.”

WAGOP Chairman Jim Walsh previously asked the Trump administration to order an audit of the state’s “Motor Voter Law.” He contends it’s a “dubious practice of automatically registering to vote anyone who applies for or renews a driver’s license—even if they are NOT in the United States legally.”

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