Trump made the conditional pledge to reporters on Tuesday, one week before the November 3 vote that will decide control of the US Congress. Asked whether he would accept a result in which his Republican Party loses its majority, he replied: 'I will if they're honest elections.'
The remarks came as the Justice Department threatened Washington state with legal action unless it removes about 400 people it claims are not US citizens from its voter registration rolls. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the demand, issued in a letter with a Wednesday deadline, was 'intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results.' Hobbs noted his office had already found some names to be based on outdated information, including a 1994 record used to claim one person was a noncitizen.
'Washington elections are secure. Cases of voter fraud, including noncitizen voting, are incredibly rare,' Hobbs said in a statement. The state successfully argued in a lawsuit last month that it was not obligated to turn over its entire voter list to the DOJ.
Last week, the DOJ sued Alaska to block certification of its Senate election unless Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan wins, arguing that the state's failure to distinguish him from another candidate also named Dan Sullivan on the ballot violates its duty to run a fair election. Trump said on Friday he personally told the DOJ to file the suit.
Earlier this month, California received a DOJ letter demanding it review a list of roughly 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters. State authorities said a large percentage of those on the list appeared to have been born in the US, making them eligible.
The DOJ has also said it plans to deploy a record number of election observers on November 3, despite objections from officials in New Jersey and California. Bipartisan voting rights groups have repeatedly dismissed the administration's claims of widespread noncitizen voting.