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Group behind slew of Washington election fraud lawsuits ordered to pay $28,000 in sanctions

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A group behind a series of election fraud lawsuits and its attorney have been ordered to pay thousands for filing a frivolous legal challenge of the 2020 election, according to Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office.

Part of Washington Election Integrity Coalition United’s (WEICU) lawsuit against Washington state claimed that people who were not U.S. citizens were illegally registered to vote. The court found the group “offers no competent evidence of voter fraud based on noncitizen voter registration.”

The lawsuit filed in Washington State Supreme Court also alleged hundreds of thousands of ballots cast in the 2020 general election were altered, but the group had no evidence supporting the claim, and the lawsuit was dismissed “due to multiple legal deficiencies.”

Because of the “frivolous nature” of the case, Ferguson asked the Washington Supreme Court to impose sanctions against WEICU and its attorney, Virginia Shogren.

The court agreed and ordered WEICU to pay $9,588.80 and Shogren to pay $18,795.90 — the state’s costs in defending the case.

WEICU also filed lawsuits in eight counties: Whatcom, Clark, Snohomish, King, Thurston, Pierce, Lincoln and Franklin counties.

“Misinformation and disinformation is a threat to the functioning of our democracy,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “Those who intentionally spread lies and undermine our elections must be held accountable. I appreciate the attorney general’s efforts to ensure truth prevails.”