The Justice Department has intensified prosecutions involving noncitizen voting and fraudulent voter registration, announcing 64 defendants across 17 states in recent weeks as federal officials warn that unlawful ballots can affect closely contested elections.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have charged 64 foreign nationals across 17 states with election-related offenses in approximately five weeks, marking a significant expansion of the Justice Department’s enforcement efforts against unlawful voting and fraudulent voter registration ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The prosecutions involve allegations ranging from noncitizens casting ballots in federal elections to individuals falsely claiming American citizenship when registering to vote.
The figures were disclosed in a Fox News Digital investigation published Sunday, which obtained the latest nationwide tally from the Justice Department. According to the department, federal prosecutors have charged 104 people with election fraud-related offenses since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
The latest cases are concentrated in several states, with Minnesota reporting the largest number of defendants, followed by Pennsylvania and Texas. Federal officials say the enforcement effort is intended to identify violations of election law, strengthen compliance with voter eligibility requirements and deter additional offenses before voters cast ballots in the upcoming congressional elections.
The Justice Department reported 11 defendants in Minnesota, 10 in Pennsylvania and nine in Texas. Louisiana accounted for five defendants, while New Jersey, California and Florida each recorded four. Together, those seven states accounted for 47 of the 64 foreign nationals included in the latest figures, with the remaining defendants spread across 10 additional states.
The department emphasized that even a small number of unlawful votes could become consequential in elections decided by narrow margins.
“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen. In 2020, Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race was decided by six votes,” a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson was referring to Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ victory over Democrat Rita Hart in Iowa’s 2020 congressional election. The contest was certified with Miller-Meeks receiving six more votes than Hart, making it one of the closest congressional races in modern American history.
Federal officials cited the Iowa result to illustrate how relatively small differences in vote totals can determine an election outcome. However, the department has not established that unlawful noncitizen voting affected the result of that contest or changed the outcome of any election associated with the recently announced prosecutions.
The latest enforcement figures include criminal charges involving both alleged unlawful voting and fraudulent registration activity. Those are separate violations, and the number of defendants does not necessarily correspond to the number of illegal ballots cast.
Some cases concern people accused of completing voter registration applications despite lacking American citizenship. Others involve allegations that individuals registered and subsequently participated in elections for which they were ineligible.
The Justice Department has also obtained guilty pleas in some cases, distinguishing those proceedings from others in which the allegations have not yet been resolved in court.
In Pennsylvania, prosecutors secured a guilty plea from Evelyn Miller, a 37-year-old Filipino national living in Emmaus, who admitted voting unlawfully in the November 2024 presidential election.
Miller pleaded guilty to a federal offense involving voting by a noncitizen and faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Her case provides an example of a prosecution in which the defendant admitted the violation rather than contesting the charge at trial.
Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania have also pursued charges against Cliff Sanon, a Haitian national accused of submitting fraudulent voter registration applications in Philadelphia County.
According to prosecutors, Sanon submitted eight registration applications and voted in the November 2022 election despite not being a United States citizen.
The allegations involving Sanon remain distinct from Miller’s guilty plea. A criminal charge represents an accusation that prosecutors must prove unless the defendant admits the offense.
David Metcalf, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said his office intends to pursue cases involving unlawful participation in American elections.
“We intend to prosecute anyone who corrupts our democracy by illegally voting in its elections,” Metcalf said.
Minnesota has become another major focus of federal enforcement.
On Sept. 30, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges against individuals accused of participating unlawfully in elections in the state. Federal officials said the defendants included lawful permanent residents who allegedly registered or voted despite not holding U.S. citizenship.
Among those charged was Joshua Kofi Edzie, a Ghanaian national and green card holder accused of casting a ballot in Minnesota’s August 2026 primary election.
Prosecutors also allege that Edzie falsely represented himself as an American citizen in connection with voter registration.
The case illustrates an important distinction in federal election law: Lawful residence in the United States does not automatically confer eligibility to vote in federal elections.
Green card holders may live and work legally in the country, but federal voting eligibility generally requires United States citizenship. A person who becomes a naturalized citizen may vote if otherwise eligible under applicable election laws, but permanent residency alone is insufficient.
The Minnesota prosecutions have attracted additional attention because they involve individuals who were legally present in the United States rather than necessarily people who entered the country unlawfully.
Similar cases have been filed in Republican- and Democratic-led states, demonstrating that the enforcement campaign is not confined to jurisdictions controlled by one political party.
Texas, Louisiana and Florida together account for 18 defendants in the latest figures.
In Louisiana, federal authorities have pursued charges involving a former mayoral candidate and a Jamaican national accused of participating in an unlawful voter registration arrangement.
Bridget Johnson, who ran for mayor of Cotton Valley in 2024, allegedly submitted a registration application on behalf of Jamaican national Michael Wedderburn and falsely certified that he was an American citizen.
Federal prosecutors subsequently accused Wedderburn of unlawfully voting in the 2024 presidential and mayoral elections.
The allegations involve both the accuracy of voter registration documents and whether an individual knowingly participated in an election despite lacking the required citizenship.
Johnson and Wedderburn have been indicted, but the charges do not establish guilt. The government must prove the allegations in court, and the defendants retain the presumption of innocence.
The Louisiana case also illustrates why federal investigations may extend beyond the individuals accused of casting ballots to people suspected of knowingly facilitating fraudulent registration.
Election registration systems rely on applicants providing accurate information about their eligibility, including citizenship status. False statements can expose applicants or other participants to criminal penalties when the applicable legal requirements are met.
New Jersey has faced separate scrutiny involving registration errors attributed to the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission.
State officials acknowledged that approximately 6,600 individuals who had indicated they were not American citizens were nevertheless registered through the agency’s systems.
Fewer than 400 of those individuals subsequently voted, according to information released by Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration.
The registration errors prompted concern among Republican officials, who questioned whether existing safeguards adequately prevented ineligible individuals from entering voter databases.
However, the presence of a person on a voter registration list does not establish that the individual knowingly committed fraud, and a registration error does not necessarily prove that an unlawful ballot was cast.
State authorities have not established that the New Jersey errors changed the outcome of an election.
Sherrill’s administration said it had taken steps to address the problem after identifying the registration irregularities.
A spokesperson for the governor, Sean Higgins, said Sherrill “moved with transparency and accountability to remediate this error from 2023.”
The controversy has nevertheless attracted attention because several New Jersey municipal contests have been decided by extremely narrow margins.
Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac highlighted elections in Caldwell, Atlantic Highlands and Bogota that were decided by margins ranging from four to six votes in 2023.
Those examples demonstrate how close local elections can be, although officials have not established that the registration errors affected those particular contests.
The enforcement campaign comes as the Trump administration seeks broader access to voter registration records and additional tools for verifying citizenship.
Federal officials have argued that more comprehensive checks are necessary to prevent ineligible individuals from registering and participating in elections.
The administration has sought to compare state voter registration records with federal immigration information, including data maintained through the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, commonly called SAVE.
That effort has generated disputes with states and voting rights organizations over federal authority, privacy protections and the reliability of government databases.
On Oct. 9, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled that the Justice Department’s attempt to obtain state voter rolls and use federal immigration records to identify and remove suspected noncitizens exceeded its legal authority.
The court found problems with the federal government’s proposed system, including privacy concerns and the risk that inaccurate records could result in eligible citizens being incorrectly identified as noncitizens.
The decision concerned voter registration data collection and removal procedures, rather than the Justice Department’s general authority to prosecute individuals who violate federal election laws.
Federal officials retain the ability to investigate suspected election crimes and pursue charges supported by evidence, subject to the applicable statutes and constitutional protections.
The broader dispute centers on how to maintain accurate registration records while protecting eligible citizens from wrongful removal.
Voting rights organizations have warned that federal immigration databases can contain outdated or incomplete citizenship information, particularly for people who became naturalized citizens after earlier interactions with immigration authorities.
An individual may therefore appear in a government record as a noncitizen even after legally obtaining American citizenship.
Election officials must distinguish those situations from cases involving individuals who genuinely lack citizenship and are not eligible to participate in federal elections.
The challenge is especially relevant when citizenship verification systems are used shortly before an election, when errors can become difficult to correct before voting begins.
Despite those concerns, both federal and state laws establish criminal penalties for unlawful voting and certain fraudulent registration activities.
Under 18 U.S.C. Section 611, noncitizens are generally prohibited from voting in elections involving candidates for federal office. The law includes limited statutory exceptions, including provisions addressing certain local elections and individuals who reasonably believed they were citizens under specified circumstances.
A violation of the federal prohibition can result in a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
A separate federal provision addresses false claims of American citizenship.
Under 18 U.S.C. Section 1015, knowingly making a false claim of U.S. citizenship to register to vote or participate in a federal, state or local election can result in a fine and a prison sentence of up to five years.
The distinction between the statutes is significant because falsely claiming citizenship can expose an individual to more severe penalties than the basic federal offense of voting unlawfully as a noncitizen.
Federal prosecutors must prove the elements of the specific offense charged, including any applicable knowledge or intent requirements.
An administrative mistake, an inaccurate government record and a knowingly fraudulent application are not legally interchangeable.
The Justice Department’s recent cases involve different alleged conduct, making it necessary to evaluate each prosecution according to its particular facts.
The federal government has also warned that unlawful voter registration or voting can carry immigration consequences for noncitizens, potentially affecting naturalization eligibility or immigration status depending on the circumstances.
The current enforcement effort has become part of the broader national debate over election integrity ahead of the November midterms.
Republicans have emphasized the importance of citizenship verification and criminal enforcement, arguing that every ineligible vote undermines the requirement that federal elections be decided by qualified voters.
Democrats and voting rights organizations generally acknowledge the prohibition on noncitizen voting but have questioned whether expanded federal data collection and voter registration investigations could result in eligible citizens being improperly removed from voter rolls.
Research and previous government investigations have generally found documented noncitizen voting to be uncommon relative to the total number of ballots cast nationwide.
The Justice Department’s latest prosecutions establish that federal authorities have identified specific cases warranting criminal charges, but the figures do not independently establish the prevalence of unlawful voting across the electorate.
Likewise, the total of 104 election-related defendants since January 2025 should not be treated as a count of confirmed illegal ballots or convictions. The cases involve different allegations, and some proceedings remain unresolved.
Federal officials have nevertheless emphasized that the possibility of a small number of unlawful votes affecting an exceptionally close election warrants continued enforcement.
The Justice Department spokesperson made that position explicit in comments accompanying the nationwide tally.
“Voting by noncitizens and other ineligible voters is a federal crime,” the spokesperson said. “And the department will enforce the law whether a case involves one illegal ballot or hundreds.”
The warning comes as candidates and election administrators prepare for voting in congressional and state contests across the country.
The Nov. 3 elections will determine control of the House of Representatives and Senate, along with numerous gubernatorial and state legislative offices.
Election administrators are responsible for maintaining voter registration records, verifying eligibility under applicable law, processing ballots and addressing suspected violations through established procedures.
Federal prosecutors can investigate election-related crimes that fall within their jurisdiction, while state and local authorities retain substantial responsibility for administering elections and enforcing state election laws.
The nationwide charges underscore the Justice Department’s stated intention to pursue unlawful voting cases regardless of whether they involve isolated ballots or more extensive alleged misconduct.
The department has not reported that the 64 defendants were part of a coordinated national operation, nor has it demonstrated that their alleged conduct changed any election result.
As the midterms approach, the pending cases will test the government’s evidence in individual prosecutions while the broader legal dispute over citizenship verification and voter registration safeguards continues.
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