DOJ Charges 64 Foreign Nationals for Illegal Voting Across 17 States

The Justice Department has charged 64 foreign nationals across 17 states with unlawful voting, fraudulent voter registration, and election-related offenses in the past five weeks as part of an intensified effort to enforce election integrity.

Minnesota leads the states with 11 defendants, followed by Pennsylvania with 10 and Texas with nine. Louisiana accounts for five, while New Jersey, California, and Florida each have four. These figures come as federal officials increase scrutiny of voter-registration safeguards ahead of upcoming elections, with recent close elections underscoring the potential impact of even a small number of illegal ballots.

According to the Justice Department, federal prosecutors have been bringing more than twice as many election-fraud cases per week as the six-vote margin that decided the Iowa's 2nd Congressional District race in 2020. A DOJ spokesperson stated, "Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen. Voting by noncitizens and other ineligible voters is a federal crime, and the department will enforce the law whether a case involves one illegal ballot or hundreds."

The cases involve allegations ranging from fraudulent registration applications to individuals casting ballots in multiple elections. In one instance, Evelyn Miller, a Filipino national from Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to illegally voting in the 2024 presidential election and faces potential penalties including up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Federal prosecutors are also bringing charges in cases such as that of Cliff Sanon, a Haitian national in Pennsylvania, who is accused of submitting a fraudulent voter registration application and voting in the November 2022 election. In Minnesota, Joshua Kofi Edzie, a Ghanaian green card holder, was charged with illegally voting in the state's August 2026 primary and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship during voter registration.

The enforcement actions have extended to states including Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, which together account for 18 defendants in the recent charges. In Louisiana, an ex-mayoral candidate was indicted on a charge of voting by an alien, with allegations that she submitted a fraudulent registration for a Jamaican national who then allegedly voted illegally in the 2024 elections.

In New Jersey, concerns have been raised about approximately 6,600 individuals who indicated they were not citizens but were erroneously registered through the state's Motor Vehicle Commission. Fewer than 400 of these individuals subsequently voted, according to the administration of Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Local officials have pointed to municipal elections in 2023 decided by margins of four to six votes.

The Justice Department has not established that any of the identified cases changed the outcome of an election.