Seattle

Federal prosecutors asked Washington election officials to set aside ballots from roughly 405 voters they suspect registered without citizenship, accounting for about 1,500 cast ballots, and said more names may follow before Election Day. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs confirmed his office is reviewing the demand, which follows about 60 federal subpoenas for voter records over the past month. Hobbs has called the DOJ's data "deeply flawed," noting citizens appear on the list and most flagged voters are unregistered or inactive, and says withholding ballots without individualized proof would likely be unlawful. No charges have been filed.

A similar, larger fight is underway in California, where a federal judge rejected a DOJ demand to sequester roughly 20,000 disputed ballots but appointed a special master to vet the list, which both sides agree includes citizens. The DOJ has since subpoenaed California election officials and appealed to the 9th Circuit. Alaska has faced comparable demands.

Seattle voters are deciding Proposition 1, which would replace a six-year transit tax approved in 2020 that expires in March. The measure would double the tax from 0.15% to 0.3% for up to 10 years, raising an estimated $138 million annually and costing the median two-person household about $58 a year, up from $29. Most funds would pay King County Metro for roughly 275,000 annual bus trips, about 95,000 more than current service, with added night and weekend frequency, more free ORCA passes, and support for streetcars and future light rail. Critics call the sales tax regressive and question added spending on Metro. Without approval, about 180,000 annual bus trips could be cut.

The ACLU of Indiana is facing a major staff exodus after four of its five principal attorneys, including longtime legal director Ken Falk, resigned in protest over incoming executive director Nikkita Oliver's planned direction for the organization. Staffers filed complaints alleging Oliver questioned Jewish attorneys' objectivity, called the ACLU "too pure" on civil liberties, and wanted to steer the nonpartisan group toward partisan goals, risking its tax-exempt status. Oliver disputes the characterizations as mischaracterized rumors. The board is standing by Oliver, whose start date has been delayed pending an HR review, while four board members have also departed. Critics worry the turmoil could weaken Indiana's civil rights litigation on abortion, prison conditions, and free speech.

Seattle's City Council voted 8-1 to pass a six-bill package restricting RV parking on city streets, with the core two-hour time limit approved 6-3. Sponsored by Councilmember Dan Strauss, the measures bar overnight parking for unpermitted oversize vehicles and allow towing without advance notice. A permit system would let RV residents park longer in designated industrial areas, but only if they own their vehicles and are counted in a planned, not-yet-conducted city census of vehicle residents. Critics, including Councilmembers Dionne Foster, Eddie Lin, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck, warned the rules amount to a de facto overnight ban that could leave some unhoused residents without options. A UW study found about 1,484 people living in vehicles citywide, including 377 in RVs. The package now goes to Mayor Katie Wilson, whose administration has raised cost concerns; enforcement would begin April 30 after a 90-day warning period.

A new report from Washington's state hospital and community health associations projects hospitals will lose nearly $6 billion in revenue through 2033 due to federal Medicaid cuts enacted under last year's Republican-backed tax and spending law. Sen. Maria Cantwell and healthcare leaders warned the roughly $900 billion in nationwide cuts will raise ER wait times, premiums and uncompensated care costs. About 200,000 Washingtonians are expected to lose coverage by next year, partly due to new work requirements starting January 1 and the removal of coverage for refugees and asylees. Rural hospitals, including on the Olympic Peninsula, face the steepest losses, with clinics also bracing for major reimbursement shortfalls and reduced patient visits.

Seattle's police surveillance network has grown well beyond the roughly 60 cameras first proposed, with officers now able to access 427 live camera feeds and another 893 privately owned cameras registered for footage requests. Two Office of Inspector General reports and a city auditor review found oversight gaps in 2025: nearly half of license plate reader database searches lacked required justification, up sharply from the prior year, prompting police to shut off the readers in March under a new state privacy law. Analysts could also view live feeds without logging a case number, and police lack formal agreements covering traffic camera access. Mayor Katie Wilson paused further camera expansion in March; new access rules are expected by 2027.

The Seattle City Council is scrutinizing Mayor Katie Wilson's first budget proposal, a $9.1 billion citywide plan for 2027 that aims to shrink an estimated $175 million general fund deficit to roughly $23 million through account transfers, inflationary adjustments, and about $50 million in general fund spending cuts. Council members including Robert Kettle and Maritza Rivera expressed doubts that the projections, which some called overly "rosy," will hold up if revenue growth lags or costs rise faster than expected, with modest deficits still projected through 2029.

Budget chair Dan Strauss noted Seattle's challenges are shared statewide and pointed to the state's 1% property tax cap as a constraint. The plan cuts 128 full-time positions (most unfilled) while overall staffing is expected to rise. A Seattle Metro Chamber poll released the same day found declining public trust in the city's fiscal management. The council awaits a new revenue forecast this week that could reshape the outlook.

A group of about a dozen demonstrators, organized by Japanese American advocacy network Tsuru for Solidarity, walked more than 45 miles over four days between immigration enforcement sites in King County, Washington, linking current immigrant detention practices to the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066. The pilgrimage began at Hing Hay Park in Seattle and was set to conclude with a rally at the ICE detention center in Tacoma. Stops included the Tukwila ICE field office, King County International Airport, and the Puyallup Fairgrounds, site of a wartime temporary incarceration camp.

Organizers, including incarceration camp survivors now in their 80s, are demanding the abolition of ICE, closure of detention centers, and an end to family separations. The event is part of a broader Tsuru for Solidarity tour of detention and historical incarceration sites, with prior stops in Texas and future pilgrimages planned in San Francisco and Honolulu.