Department of Justice (DOJ) announced election-related charges Monday against 48 non-U.S. citizens in five states, including 47 lawful permanent residents accused of illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration or related crimes. Lawful permanent residents, commonly known as green card holders, may live and work permanently in the United States but are not U.S. citizens and cannot vote for federal office. The 47 green card holders charged in California, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and Nevada face allegations of casting ballots in federal elections, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when registering and making false statements during the naturalization process.
The remaining defendant, Alfredo Santiesteban, 73, of Cuba, was described by prosecutors as an undocumented immigrant and is therefore not included in the list below. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told Newsweek: "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.
The Department is now bringing more than double that amount of election fraud cases every week. Every federal race also shares the ballot with state and local contests, which are often decided by even narrower margins. 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.
These prosecutions protect the integrity of our elections and deter others from breaking the law. That is exactly what Americans expect from their Justice Department." The allegations span several election cycles. Some defendants are accused only of unlawful voting, while others face charges involving voter registration, false assertions of citizenship or statements made while seeking naturalization.
The following list is based on individual case descriptions released by federal prosecutors. The government identified all 47 people as lawful permanent residents. Federal law generally makes it unlawful for a noncitizen to vote in an election held wholly or partly to select the president, vice president, presidential electors, U.S. senators or members of the House.
A violation under 18 U.S.C. Section 611 is punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both, subject to limited statutory exceptions. That prohibition does not apply to local elections.
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