An election integrity expert raised concerns Wednesday about California and Washington after the Justice Department identified thousands of suspected noncitizen voter registrations, including cases in which residents told officials they were not U.S. citizens yet were still registered to vote.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, blamed the states’ automatic voter registration systems and local officials’ refusal to use available federal tools to verify citizenship.

"Noncitizens are getting on the rolls all over the country through the motor voter program. They're going into (the) DMV. Sometimes they're even telling the DMV they’re not citizens, and states are still registering them to vote," Adams said.

"That's why aliens are getting on the rolls in states like Washington and California that have automatic voter registration."

FEDERAL OFFICIALS IDENTIFY 400 NONCITIZENS REGISTERED TO VOTE IN WASHINGTON STATE: 'TIP OF THE ICEBERG'

California and Washington both require U.S. citizenship to register to vote, though their automatic voter registration systems differ. California DMV customers who indicate they are eligible to vote can be automatically registered, while Washington's automatic registration through the Department of Licensing is tied to transactions requiring proof of U.S. citizenship, such as obtaining an enhanced driver's license or ID.

However, federal officials said they identified more than 20,000 likely noncitizens on California voter rolls, many with addresses in Los Angeles County, and more than 400 suspected cases in Washington. The findings come just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Washington Secretary of State Steve R. Hobbs pushed back against the Justice Department on Wednesday, criticizing its findings for containing "several glaring deficiencies."

The list included U.S. citizens and individuals who are not currently registered to vote, Hobbs said.

"Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot. If you have individualized proof, I invite you to provide it so election officials can take appropriate steps that are consistent with federal and state law," Hobbs said. 

The California secretary of state also pushed back last week, saying a review of the DOJ’s data on Los Angeles County found "significant accuracy problems with their sweeping claims."

"At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt. At worst, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians this election," the office said. 

DOJ HAS VERIFIED 20,000 NONCITIZENS ON CALIFORNIA VOTER ROLLS, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR SAYS

Adams also blamed election officials for refusing to use the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify noncitizens on voter rolls.

He described SAVE as the "best database there is for aliens" that is "just sitting there waiting for them to use."

"They don't want to check. They don't have to check. Federal law doesn't require them to check. What federal law does is make data available through the SAVE database at DHS," Adams said.

Hobbs criticized the DOJ’s reliance on the SAVE database, calling it "unreliable" and arguing that the absence of a citizenship record does not establish immigration status.

"It cannot rely on the mere absence of a name from the SAVE database or the department’s assertions based on the vague and untested methodology described in the lawsuit against California," Hobbs said.

MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES

As a result of lax regulations, Adams said his team has identified major voter roll issues in California beyond noncitizen registration, including duplicate registrations and registrations associated with deceased residents.

"It's what we expect now from California because partisan politics has taken over election administration in that state," he said.

"They think it's part of the program to disenfranchise people if they check citizenship, but it's not," he added. "They're saying that everything's fine here. ‘Don't look at us. We're as good as it can be,’ But the reality is they're really not using the data that are available to keep the rolls clean."

DOJ THREATENS EMERGENCY LEGAL ACTION AGAINST CALIFORNIA OVER SUSPECTED NONCITIZEN VOTERS

Other states, including Florida and North Carolina, have used the SAVE database and found fewer issues, according to Adams, contrasting their approach with California and Washington.

While the Justice Department's disclosure marks a rare public accounting of suspected noncitizen voter registrations, Adams said the findings will likely not affect the upcoming midterm elections.

Audits usually happen during off-election years when there is sufficient time for legal review, according to Adams. Waiting until just before an election in an even-numbered year can result in courts dismissing challenges due to "laches," a legal principle that penalizes someone for waiting too long without a valid reason to file a legal claim.

"There's very little you can do right before an election. That's why the hard work in these cases is in odd-numbered years, not in October or even-numbered years. So, you really have to do this stuff early, or you could lose on what's called laches," he said.

Despite the timing, Adams, who worked in the DOJ’s Voting Section more than a decade ago, applauded the department for taking the matter seriously.

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"Nobody took noncitizen registration seriously until now. And that's a welcome change," he said.

Washington's secretary of state blasted the Justice Department Wednesday after federal officials said investigators had identified more than 400 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in the state, some of whom they said had cast ballots in multiple elections dating back decades.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs pushed back against the findings, saying the state’s review of the list uncovered "several glaring deficiencies."

"This list includes United States citizens and is not reliable. Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot," he said. 

"That analysis reflects a significant number of people on your list who are not currently registered to vote or are on inactive status, contradicting your representations that all the individuals included in the list will receive a ballot in this year’s election," he added. 

On Monday, the U.S. attorneys’ offices for the Eastern and Western districts of Washington said investigators had identified lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, who were registered to vote or had cast ballots.

"We have identified over 400 noncitizens who are registered to vote and have voted in multiple elections. This is only the tip of the iceberg," Neil Floyd, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, said in a statement. 

"We will continue to investigate and identify those who are committing crimes by voting illegally."

Immigration officials told Fox News Digital Tuesday that dozens of noncitizens have also been arrested nationwide in a major voter fraud crackdown.

DOJ HAS VERIFIED 20,000 NONCITIZENS ON CALIFORNIA VOTER ROLLS, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR SAYS

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Floyd said investigators identified hundreds of noncitizen voters by reviewing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) records, which showed that some people who applied for certain benefits had also voted.

While some individuals voted only once or three times in past elections, Floyd said others voted as many as 27 times. In total, his office counted approximately 1,500 instances of noncitizens casting ballots.

He emphasized that some noncitizens had been voting for decades, predating Washington’s transition to a vote-by-mail system. 

"I think the earliest moment we have is 1984," Floyd said. "It's early ‘90s, late ’80s, I believe."

However, Floyd said he had not checked whether any of the individuals voted in the upcoming midterms, explaining that he did not want to "interfere with the current election."

The number of potential noncitizen voters could represent only a fraction of the broader population, Floyd said, because the list includes only individuals who sought certain benefits in Washington state.

NINTH CIRCUIT QUESTIONS TRUMP DOJ'S EMERGENCY REQUEST TO SET ASIDE 20,000 CALIFORNIA MAIL BALLOTS

"If you take that population, and you expand it out to include all the people that are here illegally that we haven't had contact with, just my estimation is that it's going to be in the thousands," Floyd said. 

Federal officials said many green card holders were registered to vote without their knowledge through Washington’s Motor Voter program, which integrates voter registration into the state’s Department of Licensing.

"We have heard from green card holders who were registered against their knowledge via the Washington Motor Voter program. Then they receive a ballot in the mail and assume they are legally registered — that simply is not the case," the notice said.

According to the Washington secretary of state’s website, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote only if they provide proof of U.S. citizenship during a driver’s license or ID card registration process.

Floyd said investigators identified patterns they believe contributed to noncitizens being registered to vote.

According to the DOJ notice, federal officials are asking Washington state to set aside ballots cast by the identified individuals until their citizenship status can otherwise be confirmed.

"Washington is now on notice that noncitizens are voting. It is up to the state to take action to make sure that they are not allowing these noncitizens to vote illegally," the notice said.   

The move builds on DOJ's legal action against California, where federal officials are seeking to set aside mail-in ballots from roughly 20,000 voters they allege are likely noncitizens while their citizenship status is verified.

In response, the California secretary of state’s office said last week that its review "found significant accuracy problems with their sweeping claims."

"At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt. At worst, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians this election. Plaintiff’s sole claim—that a federal criminal prohibition on individual noncitizen voting preempts large swaths of California’s election administration—borders on the absurd. The relief Plaintiff seeks is as unlawful as it is untenable," the statement said. 

Officials warned that voting as a noncitizen can have serious consequences for those seeking to become U.S. citizens. Potential criminal charges include making false statements in a naturalization application, and some individuals could also face charges for fraudulent voter registration.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital numerous illegal aliens had also admitted to unlawfully registering to vote or casting ballots in U.S. elections.

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Of the dozens of suspects arrested, at least 18 had voted in a federal election. 

The individuals were from a range of countries, including Mexico, Somalia, Honduras, Guyana, Cuba, Germany, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cambodia, Guatemala, Portugal and Italy.

Many also faced charges for numerous alleged crimes, including counterfeiting, fraud, kidnapping, DUI, sexual offenses, assault with a dangerous weapon, drug possession and burglary.