On the eve of the approaching midterm elections in the United States on November 3, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is stepping up efforts to combat voter fraud by non-citizens.
According to The Washington Post, federal prosecutors announced lawsuits against 11 individuals on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases announced by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in September to 49. Additionally, one more individual was sued on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases pursued by the DOJ to 50.
In a recent case, a federal grand jury in Minnesota indicted 10 foreign nationals. Seven of them are accused of illegally voting in the 2024 election, while one is charged with voting in 2022. The remaining two defendants include one who allegedly cast an illegal vote in the August 2026 primaries and another who falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen when registering to vote in 2024.
Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized that “the law is clear, only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in U.S. elections, and enforcing this law is crucial for our democracy.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that the message conveyed to non-citizen voters by the government is that they will face criminal charges and deportation risks.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors charged 37-year-old Bahamian citizen Terrance Patrick Evans with illegal voting. Evans, a legal permanent resident, is accused of knowingly casting a ballot in Citrus County, Florida during the 2024 federal elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.
According to Reuters, DHS has obtained voter rolls from at least 47 states and assigned hundreds of officials to search for potential non-citizen voters. DHS is cross-referencing voter data with records held by USCIS, the Department of State, and the Social Security Administration.
Mullin indicated that DHS is investigating 1,620 cases, but being under investigation does not necessarily prove that someone unlawfully registered or voted.
While the government asserts that these actions are necessary to maintain the integrity of elections, critics argue that non-citizen voting is exceedingly rare and unlikely to impact election outcomes.
Reuters reported that since the enactment of the 1996 federal Foreign Voting Act, 129 individuals have been prosecuted. An investigation also revealed that since 2000, over 30,000 non-citizens may have been mistakenly included in voter rolls due to software or paperwork errors in various states, although the actual number of those who voted remains unclear.
Under U.S. federal law, non-citizens who illegally vote in federal elections can face up to a year in prison under 18 U.S.C. § 611; those who falsely claim to be citizens for registration or voting purposes can face up to five years in prison under 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f).
(Reference: NEWSMAX)