Justice Department announces election-related charges against 48 people it identifies as noncitizens in five states

The Justice Department on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, announced charges against 48 people it identifies as noncitizens in 10 federal court districts in Pennsylvania, California, Florida, New York and Nevada. The department said the cases allege voting while not a citizen and claiming U.S. citizenship in order to register or cast a ballot.¹

The release says a complaint, indictment or information “merely contain accusations” and that all defendants “are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”¹

Cases by district

• Central District of California: 13, facing felony charges that the release says include false statements in a naturalization application.
• Eastern District of California: 6, charged with voting by an alien in a federal election.
• Middle District of Florida: 6, all charged with illegal voting by an alien; three are also indicted on a count of falsely claiming citizenship to vote.
• Middle District of Pennsylvania: 5, charged with voting by an alien.
• Northern District of California: 5, charged with attempted unlawful procurement of naturalization, a false statement under oath relating to naturalization and voting by an alien.
• Eastern District of Pennsylvania: 4, charged by information with voting by an alien.
• Southern District of California: 4, charged with a false claim of citizenship to vote, attempted unlawful procurement of naturalization and a false statement under oath relating to naturalization.
• Eastern District of New York: 3, charged with voting by an alien in a federal election.
• Northern District of New York: 1, charged with voting by an alien.
• District of Nevada: 1, charged with voting by an alien.¹

Who was charged and what is alleged

The release describes 47 of the defendants as lawful permanent residents. It describes one, charged in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as being in the country illegally. By SignalData’s count, the release lists defendants from 26 countries; nine are identified as Mexican nationals, the most of any country.¹

In the California cases, the release alleges that some defendants registered to vote as early as 2002 and later made false statements in naturalization paperwork. The alleged votes span elections from 2020 to a June 2026 primary, the latter in one Eastern District of California case.¹ In the Eastern District of New York, the release says two defendants told federal agents in voluntary interviews, “in substance and in part,” that they were not citizens and had voted in the 2024 general election.¹

Penalties

The release gives one maximum penalty: for the six Eastern District of California defendants, it calls voting by an alien in a federal election a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in federal prison. It lists no other maximums.¹ The federal statute titled “Voting by aliens,” 18 U.S.C. 611, makes it unlawful, with limited exceptions, for a noncitizen to vote in an election held solely or in part to elect a candidate for federal office, and sets a penalty of a fine, up to one year in prison, or both.²

The department’s position

The release includes no statement from the attorney general or any other named official. The department’s page links to three earlier releases, dated Oct. 16 and Oct. 19, on other noncitizen voting cases.¹

What the records do not show

• The release does not cite the U.S. Code sections behind each charge, list case numbers or say when each charge was filed.¹
• It does not say whether any defendant has entered a plea, been arrested or been convicted. It includes no response from any defendant or defense lawyer.¹
• One Eastern District of New York entry attributes an interview admission to a different defendant than the one described in that paragraph; SignalData left that detail out.¹
• The release does not say how many noncitizens voted nationally or how these cases were identified.¹