WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced charges on Monday involving 16 people across the country in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and related election crimes, the department said in a press release.
According to the department, the separate cases include voting by noncitizens in federal elections, false claims of U.S. citizenship in order to register or vote, voting on behalf of a deceased person, voting more than once in the same election, false statements on citizenship applications, and unlawful procurement of citizenship. The cases were brought in multiple federal districts and are not described by the department as a single coordinated scheme.
Cases cited by the department
- In New Mexico, a 62-year-old man was indicted on a fraudulent voting charge after prosecutors said he attempted to cast his deceased wife’s absentee ballot in the November 2024 general election.
- In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, four foreign nationals were charged with voting by a noncitizen during the 2024 election.
- Other districts brought cases involving alleged double voting and alleged false citizenship statements connected to voter registration.
The announcement comes weeks before the November midterm elections, in which the integrity of voter rolls and noncitizen voting have been central political issues. Federal law restricts voting in federal elections to U.S. citizens.
The charges are allegations. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, and the department’s release listed the cases district by district rather than announcing any joint trial or shared conspiracy charge.
The department did not announce any connection between the cases and the outcome of any election. Election officials in the affected districts have not said that any of the alleged ballots changed a result.
