Snohomish County election workers have a new state-issued playbook for what to do if federal investigators show up at their offices or ballot-counting facilities before the Nov. 3 general election.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Attorney General Nick Brown on Thursday, Sept. 3, sent all 39 county election offices a guide titled "Election administration: a guide to federal and state authority." The document spells out step-by-step responses to verbal requests, letter demands, administrative subpoenas, grand-jury subpoenas and judicial search warrants from federal agents, the Lynnwood Times reported.

The guide landed three days after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched what it calls a "coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative" on Tuesday, Sept. 1. The effort targets nine states, including Washington, and is set to run through at least mid-October. DHS investigators were directed to pursue leads, conduct field interviews and support prosecutorial review focused on alleged noncitizen registration or voting.

Brown said he has "no reason to believe this is a legitimate inquiry by DHS."

What the guide tells county staff

The document lists the types of federal personnel who may appear at voting centers or counting facilities: Justice Department election monitors, congressional observers, FBI agents and DHS investigators, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It notes DHS personnel typically do not arrive with judicial warrants but may carry administrative subpoenas.

County workers are told to verify the identity of any federal agent and determine whether a request is voluntary or backed by legal process. They must also check whether it reaches non-public records or space and consult county counsel before agreeing to an interview or producing documents. Staff must notify the secretary of state and attorney general when an encounter occurs.

One instruction is blunt. Workers should not release documents on a verbal request and need not stop ballot processing to accommodate one.

If a warrant is served, the guide tells staff not to block agents, hide files, shut down computers or move documents. A county may designate someone to observe and photograph the search, request an inventory and later seek return of material taken beyond the warrant's scope.

How Washington got on the list

Hobbs said in an Aug. 31 press release that he learned Washington was on the DHS surge list from news reports, not from the agency itself. He called documented voter fraud in the state rare, citing five cases from 2008 to 2025 out of 90 million ballots cast. Hobbs described the DHS effort as an attempt to sow confusion ahead of the midterm elections.

The other eight states on the list are Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York and Connecticut.

Washington is already in court over the U.S. Department of Justice's demands for unredacted voter rolls, according to the Lynnwood Times.

What's ahead for Snohomish County voters

The attorney general's office said the guide is meant to prepare county officials for interactions with federal agents ahead of the Nov. 3 election. County offices are scheduled to begin mailing ballots to military and overseas voters by Saturday, Sept. 19, and to all other registered voters by Friday, Oct. 16.

Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell has separately urged voters to use official drop boxes in the final days before an election, the Lynnwood Times reported Sept. 2. Voters who must use the mail can request a free manual postmark at a post office counter.

The secretary of state's office told the Lynnwood Times it is considering a contingency plan for voters to print their own ballots from home or a library if U.S. Postal Service delivery is disrupted.