Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is rejecting President Donald Trump’s latest claims of widespread election fraud, saying Washington’s election system remains secure despite recent cuts to federal cybersecurity support.
In a statement released Friday, a day after Trump’s nationally televised address, Hobbs said the president’s remarks “do not change the fact that claims of widespread election fraud have been repeatedly disproven.”
Instead, Hobbs argued that actions taken by the Trump administration have made election security more difficult by scaling back federal cybersecurity programs that states rely on to protect election systems.
Hobbs also criticized the administration for tying federal election funding to what he called “new and unfounded election requirements,” saying delays in funding could affect states’ ability to prepare for or respond to security threats.
Hobbs said election officials continue to investigate every allegation of voter fraud and emphasized that Washington’s election process includes ballot tracking, signature verification, testing of voting systems and post-election audits.
He encouraged residents to visit their county elections office if they want to see those safeguards in action.
“Washington state has a proven track record of running secure, accurate, and transparent elections,” Hobbs said. “Telling the same lies over and over again does not make them true.”
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