DOJ charges 16 people for illegal voting across 11 districts
On Monday, the Justice Department filed federal charges against sixteen people in eleven federal districts for alleged illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and related election crimes.
The announcement comes as the nation heads toward the 2026 elections, highlighting the Justice Department’s focus on upholding voting integrity and deterring non‑citizen participation in the electoral process.
Fourteen of the defendants are accused of voting as noncitizens. Eleven are described as lawful permanent residents originally from Pakistan, Canada, Portugal, Peru, Jamaica, Cuba, Britain and the Philippines. An illegal immigrant from France and a Polish national who allegedly overstayed their visa before applying for permanent residence also voted in the 2024 general election. One naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic faces accusations of unlawfully procuring citizenship. According to the department release, some allegedly voted in as many as fifteen elections over roughly two decades.
The remaining two defendants are not charged with non‑citizen voting. One New Mexico man is indicted on a count of fraudulent voting for allegedly attempting to cast his deceased wife’s absentee ballot in 2024, and a North Carolina man faces an indictment in Alabama for allegedly voting twice in the 2024 general election.
Democratic leaders have emphasized that such illegal voting is rare. Senator Alex Padilla of California called it “extremely rare,” while Representative James Walkinshaw of Virginia said “it just doesn’t happen.”
Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the DOJ has charged 104 people with voting‑fraud related offenses, 64 of them in the past five weeks, according to figures provided to Fox News Digital.
Public opinion on proof‑of‑citizenship requirements remains divided. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll of 2,200 registered voters found 79 percent support requiring proof of citizenship to vote, with strong partisan differences. An Economist/YouGov poll in March showed 59 percent in favor of proof‑of‑citizenship for registration. Lawmakers have responded with proposals such as the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship—such as a passport or birth certificate—when registering to vote, though the bill stalled in the Senate.
The defendants face upcoming court appearances, and the Justice Department indicated that investigations will continue as election officials prepare for the upcoming contests.
