'Election access shouldn’t be decided along party lines' Secretary Steve Hobbs' statement after Trump's State of the Union

Steve Hobbs, Washington
Secretary of State

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs' statement after Trump's State of the Union

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, I attended the State of the Union as Sen. Cantwell’s guest to help sound the alarm on the SAVE America Act. During the address, President Trump directed Congress to pass the SAVE Act, repeating false claims of mass fraud in American elections.  

These comments should be deeply concerning to all Americans. Voting is a sacred right for all citizens, and  election access shouldn’t be decided along party lines. Dedicated state and county election officials strive to ensure Washington’s elections are accurate, transparent, and secure. Their experience,  professionalism,  and commitment to public service are what make elections great in Washington.   

To repeat what I said before the State of the Union yesterday: The SAVE America Act doesn’t save anything. Here are some common-sense truths about Washington elections: 

• Voting by mail removes barriers to citizens’ ability to participate in our democratic process.  Washington continues to improve voter access while maintaining the integrity of our elections. We should be doing everything we can to increase voter  participation for all eligible Washingtonians. 

• Washington’s voter roll maintenance processes support an accurate and well-maintained system. Election officials use data from multiple sources to ensure ineligible voters are regularly removed from the voter roll.  

• Actual incidents of ineligible voting are incredibly rare. There have been just 15 cases of noncitizen voting in the state of Washington - out of 1,620 nationally - between 1982 and 2025.  Washington uses paper ballots, which are a physical record that can be recounted and audited as many times as needed. 

Our elections face real risks, and we lost valuable federal partnerships in 2025 when several critical federal security programs were defunded. 

The SAVE America Act is voter disenfranchisement masquerading as election security.  It would make voting harder for eligible citizens while failing to address the real risks election officials face. 

Proposed federal legislation and comments made by national authorities undermine election security and accessibility. Instead, federal actions should protect vote-by-mail elections and advocate for voters’ rights and data privacy.

Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections