Ahead of midterm election King County stands ready to battle federal government in court

On the eve of Election Day, King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion says the county is watching for federal interference in the election and is ready to go to court if needed.

Manion’s office released a summary of the lawsuits the county has backed to protect vote-by-mail, voters’ private information, and local control of elections.

“On the eve of election day, I want to reassure our King County communities that we are closely monitoring any attacks on our election process, and we are prepared to respond with litigation where necessary and appropriate,” Manion announced.

Mail ballot rule stays blocked for Tuesday

King County Elections signed on Sept. 9 in support of the states challenging a new U.S. Postal Service rule on how mail ballots are sent to voters.

On Sept. 14, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to set aside a lower-court injunction blocking the rule. The rule stays blocked through Tuesday’s election while the case continues, according to SCOTUSblog.

Under the rule, ballot envelopes would need an election-mail logo, a format that high-speed postal equipment can scan, and a barcode unique to each voter. States would also have had to submit envelope designs to the Postal Service for approval and upload voter information to a Postal Service portal, according to the court’s order.

Manion’s office said those changes would have kept some eligible voters from casting ballots. Election officials may not have gotten new envelopes approved in time for November. They also would have had to use an untested federal portal and wait at post offices while postal workers scanned ballot envelopes, the office claimed.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that applying the rule in 2026 would be unlawful because election officials didn’t have enough time to put it in place. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Fighting DOJ over voter records

King County also joined friend-of-the-court briefs in three federal cases against election officials in New York and other states. In those cases, the U.S. Department of Justice is demanding complete, unredacted statewide voter registration records.

The briefs describe the safeguards on how voter lists are maintained and the burden the demands place on local election workers. They also argue that courts should closely review federal requests for sensitive voter information, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs turned down a similar DOJ request for the state’s voter registration database last year.

Last week, Hobbs also rejected a separate DOJ demand to set aside ballots from 405 people the department says are noncitizens registered to vote in Washington. He said his office’s review found “many” people on the list are U.S. citizens, according to KING 5.

“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.

Part of a wider legal fight

Manion’s office said it has backed 16 lawsuits this year aimed at protecting King County from what it calls illegal federal actions.

In August, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for King County and more than 70 other local governments in King County v. Turner. The ruling bars the Trump administration from requiring local governments to adopt certain policies on diversity programs, immigration, LGBTQ+ issues and abortion in order to get federal grants. The prosecutor’s office said the ruling means the county has received or expects to receive $364 million in federal funding.

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