The Justice Department announced charges Monday involving 63 people accused of illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related offenses, unveiling the cases one day before the 2026 midterm elections. Federal prosecutors accused dozens of noncitizens of illegally voting, claiming U.S. citizenship to register and concealing voting histories while seeking naturalization. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday it had charged 195 noncitizens across 25 states with illegal voting and registration offenses during the previous nine weeks.
It said 239 people had been charged with voting fraud-related offenses since the current administration took office. The department’s release did not provide a historical comparison supporting its description of the cases as the largest recent surge, and the figures represent charges rather than convictions. The Trump administration has made election integrity and noncitizen voting a priority ahead of the 2026 midterms, arguing that tougher enforcement is needed to protect elections.
Voting rights advocates and election experts have long said noncitizen voting is rare, with the Heritage Foundation’s election-fraud database recording 24 cases from 2003 through 2023. The DOJ’s crackdown has raised questions about the scale of noncitizen voting, the political timing of the prosecutions and their impact on immigrant communities. With noncitizen voting considered rare, critics may question whether the figures justify claims of a surge in voter fraud and risk blurring the line between allegations and proven offenses.
Lawful permanent residents, commonly known as green card holders, can live and work permanently in the United States but cannot vote in federal elections, though some jurisdictions allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections. Most of the 63 defendants in Monday's announcement were described as lawful permanent residents accused of voting despite not being U.S. citizens. Four were identified by the department as immigrants living in the country illegally.
The announced charges are accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. North Carolina accounted for the largest share, with 18 defendants, followed by California with 12, Tennessee with seven, and Texas and Pennsylvania with five each.
The remaining cases were spread across 10 states. Individual prosecutions were also announced in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Utah and Wisconsin. Some defendants are accused of voting once, while others allegedly participated in multiple elections over several years.
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