U.S. Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi is seen throughout a press convention on Might 7 in Washington, D.C. Bondi’s Division of Justice not too long ago charged a number of noncitizens for alleged unlawful voting, citing help from the Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Photos
cover caption
toggle caption
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Photos
Final October, at a library in Boynton Seashore, Fla., Yelyzaveta Demydenko went together with her mother and stepdad to vote for the primary time.
Demydenko, who’s 22, advised a federal investigator that she voted within the presidential election “as a result of she wished to make a distinction.” Her mom, Svitlana, additionally voting for the primary time, mentioned she solid a poll “as a result of she wished to assist the nation.”
The ladies, who have been born in Ukraine, are inexperienced card holders, not U.S. residents, as is required to vote in federal elections. They now signify two of the primary unlawful voting fees introduced by the Justice Division below President Trump.
The identical week, federal legislation enforcement additionally introduced fees towards an Iraqi man accused of casting a poll within the 2020 election, and a Jamaican lady accused of illegally voting in final yr’s presidential main in Florida.
The 4 instances have been made public a few month after Trump signed an government order that seeks so as to add new doc checks to voter registration, and as Republicans in Congress and in legislatures throughout the nation attempt to cross legal guidelines with comparable restrictions.
Trump and his allies have for years pushed the false narrative that non-U.S. residents are voting in massive numbers in federal elections, however nothing in these preliminary fees factors to any widespread conspiracy.
The costs additionally come because the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division turns its focus from its longtime mission of defending the constitutional rights of all Individuals to implementing the president’s government orders. And based on federal officers, not less than a few of the preliminary instances relate to work performed by the Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE, although the federal government has not disclosed many particulars on how the Elon Musk-led group was concerned.
Prosecuting errors
Within the leadup to the 2024 election, Trump and his allies, together with Musk, pushed the baseless conspiracy idea that the Biden administration allowed migrants to enter the nation so they might illegally vote in an try and steal the election for Democrats.
“A number of these unlawful immigrants coming in, they’re attempting to get them to vote,” Trump mentioned throughout final September’s presidential debate. “They cannot even converse English. They do not even know what nation they’re in virtually.”
No proof ever got here to mild to assist these allegations. And not less than for the 4 folks charged in current weeks, obtainable public information paint a a lot totally different image.
Data counsel the Iraqi man, Akeel Abdul Jamiel, had lived within the U.S. for greater than a decade earlier than allegedly voting illegally, and letters he seems to have submitted in different courtroom instances present he was a fan of Trump and that he was apprehensive about immigration.
“I pray and hope that unlawful immigration be stopped utterly,” Jamiel wrote in a letter to the Trump White Home in 2019. In a separate doc he wrote, “Might god bless my favourite President Mr. Donald J Trump the best man of our occasions.”
The charging doc for Jacqueline Wallace, the Jamaican lady who was arrested, signifies she has been within the nation for greater than 14 years.
The Ukrainian mom and daughter, who entered the nation legally on visas, got everlasting authorized residence within the U.S. greater than a yr previous to voting, and advised a federal investigator they did not know they weren’t additionally allowed to vote.
That is extraordinarily widespread amongst these instances, mentioned College of Idaho legislation professor Benji Cowl, who wrote a paper about folks, together with noncitizens, misunderstanding election guidelines and being prosecuted in current a long time.
“We do not use the phrase ‘voter mistake.’ And I discovered in my analysis that plenty of these instances which are described as voter fraud appear to contain errors somewhat than fraud,” Cowl mentioned. “There’s an enormous mismatch between the language we’re utilizing in our political rhetoric and the fact on the bottom.”
In a press release, White Home spokesperson Liz Huston mentioned: “Non-citizen voting is a really actual drawback, and anybody who says in any other case is delusional and mendacity.” The White Home additionally despatched an inventory of noncitizen voting instances stretching again to 2011 that quantity to roughly 30 folks charged.
In different remoted instances this yr, noncitizens have been charged with unlawful voting in addition to different types of id fraud. A handful of such instances have been additionally federally prosecuted throughout the Biden administration. However typically, Cowl famous that it would not make sense for an immigrant with out authorized standing to threat jail, deportation and household separation to solid one poll — particularly as a result of the inherent paper path of voting makes it very straightforward to get caught.
“It is a very unusual crime since you truly go to the federal government to commit the crime and also you write your title down on a bit of paper while you commit the crime,” Cowl mentioned. “That all the time struck me as unlikely.”
What state opinions have discovered about noncitizen voting
States are additionally starting to quantify the noncitizen voting situation themselves — including to the proof that it hardly ever happens.
Michigan not too long ago launched the outcomes of a 2024 election audit that discovered 15 potential noncitizen votes out of the state’s greater than 5.7 million solid. A comparable audit final yr in Georgia uncovered 20 potential noncitizens out of the state’s 8.2 million registered voters. Iowa says it discovered 35 potential noncitizen votes out of the state’s almost 1.7 million votes in 2024.
Nonetheless, some Republicans are pointing to the current prison instances as proof of a systemic flaw that requires a complete resolution, like requiring all Individuals to supply a delivery certificates, passport or different citizenship doc to register to vote. Analysis reveals such a change would pose a barrier for as many as 1-in-10 American voters.
Trump’s March 25 government order known as for including a requirement to the nationwide voter registration kind to indicate proof of citizenship, however a federal choose paused that effort after discovering the president didn’t have the authority to make that change.
The Republican-controlled Home of Representatives additionally handed a model of such restrictions in March, known as the SAVE Act, which is now on the Senate for consideration.
“The factor that by no means occurs retains taking place,” GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wrote in response to information in regards to the Demydenkos’ fees. “American elections are for Individuals solely. Go the SAVE Act NOW!”
In half of all states as effectively, legislatures have launched some kind of proof-of-citizenship laws in 2025, based on monitoring by the Voting Rights Lab, with New Hampshire, Wyoming and Louisiana already having handed some type of these restrictions.
Arizona and Kansas have been the primary states to enact such legal guidelines and controversy adopted. Kansas’ legislation is now not in impact after a federal courtroom discovered it unconstitutional and proof surfaced that tens of hundreds of eligible residents have been blocked from voting.
A voter registers to vote in Derry, N.H., on March 11. New Hampshire’s March elections have been the primary take a look at of the state’s new proof-of-citizenship legislation.
Reba Saldanha/AP
cover caption
toggle caption
Reba Saldanha/AP
Cowl, of the College of Idaho, says he worries remoted unlawful voting arrests shall be conflated into a much bigger nationwide disaster that justifies such restrictions.
“There could also be methods to enhance the voter registration course of (so this by no means occurs). That is a official coverage purpose,” Cowl mentioned. “However while you begin with this very heated political rhetoric and this false premise there’s this huge widespread voter fraud, that implies a really totally different set of options that entails making it a lot, a lot more durable for everyone to register and far, a lot more durable for everyone to vote.”
Unclear position for DOGE
Justice Division press releases, and the head of the Division of Homeland Safety, credit score DOGE with aiding with the investigations into Jamiel and the Demydenkos, however it’s not clear what position DOGE performed, or whether or not DOGE additionally assisted with the arrest of Wallace.
NPR requested extra data on DOGE’s involvement within the instances however didn’t obtain extra particulars from the White Home, DOJ or DHS.
The case towards the Demydenkos was already underway in December, earlier than Trump’s inauguration, based on a press release from the Palm Seashore County Supervisor of Elections, and thus far there isn’t a point out of DOGE in any courtroom paperwork.
However these concerned with DOGE have publicly talked about election crimes work.
At a rally in Wisconsin on the finish of March, Musk and affiliate Antonio Gracias, a DOGE staffer assigned to the Social Safety Administration, revealed that DOGE was evaluating Social Safety knowledge with state voter knowledge in an effort to determine potential noncitizens who had illegally voted. Gracias mentioned his group had referred instances of noncitizens voting to DHS’ Homeland Safety Investigations arm.
Earlier that very same week, Trump’s government order instructed DHS to work with DOGE on voter listing upkeep efforts. The subsequent day, a Homeland Safety Investigations particular agent requested Jamiel’s voter file from native election officers in New York, based on an e mail acquired by NPR via a public information request.
It is unclear what number of potential noncitizen voters DOGE has uncovered.
Gracias advised Fox Information in early April that his group had discovered “hundreds” of potential noncitizens on the voter rolls in a handful of states. However on the finish of April, Musk and Gracias cited a smaller quantity — 57 — after they talked about to reporters what number of potential noncitizen voter fraud instances DOGE had referred thus far to legislation enforcement, based on ABC Information.
Elections directors word this kind of information matching is notoriously arduous and may result in big preliminary numbers of potential noncitizens that get whittled down as soon as investigators dig in, remove false positives, and discover up-to-date citizenship data on individuals who have naturalized.
In Ohio final yr, as an illustration, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred greater than 600 potential noncitizen voters from the earlier decade for prosecution. The state’s lawyer basic ended up asserting fewer than 10 indictments, and of these, the Related Press discovered some who illegally voted had performed so with out understanding they have been ineligible.
“A scalpel, not a sledgehammer”
Possibly probably the most excessive profile noncitizen voting incident final election cycle occured in Michigan, when a 19-year-old Chinese language school scholar voted in Ann Arbor, then tried to get his poll again after it had already been counted. He now faces two state felony fees.
The incident put Michigan within the highlight on the problem, so after voting was accomplished Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, sought to place exhausting numbers to all of the accusations and theories flying round.
“I feel all of us can agree that solely U.S. residents needs to be voting in American elections,” Benson, who’s additionally working for governor, advised NPR in an interview. “And because the rhetoric round noncitizens being able to vote in our elections is growing, I assumed it was actually essential for us to simply have a way of the true uncooked numbers and knowledge.”
Her workplace in contrast the state’s voter file to knowledge that they had on file with the state’s division of motor autos and checked any matches towards obtainable federal citizenship knowledge. Benson mentioned she modeled the audit after the one Georgia election officers accomplished final yr.
The Michigan audit revealed 15 potential noncitizens, along with the Chinese language scholar, who appear to have efficiently voted in 2024, and Benson’s workplace turned these instances over to legislation enforcement for investigation.
When requested by NPR why she did not have her workplace full the assessment earlier than the election, to stop any improper votes, Benson mentioned the state was implementing early voting for the primary time in a presidential election — one thing that might impression each one of many state’s greater than 7 million registered voters — and there was solely a lot effort she felt the state’s native election directors might put towards one thing she knew wasn’t occurring in massive numbers.
Benson is backing a invoice in Michigan’s legislature to completely codify some citizenship checks on the again finish of the state’s registration system. In the meantime, Republican lawmakers and advocacy teams try to place not less than one proof-of-citizenship initiative on the 2026 poll.
Benson is against including new burdens to the entrance finish of registration for tens of millions of voters.
“We need to don’t have any proof of people that aren’t eligible voting in our elections,” Benson mentioned. “However it is a severe situation and it must be addressed with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.”
I love how you write—it’s like having a conversation with a good friend. Can’t wait to read more!This post pulled me in from the very first sentence. You have such a unique voice!Seriously, every time I think I’ll just skim through, I end up reading every word. Keep it up!Your posts always leave me thinking… and wanting more. This one was no exception!Such a smooth and engaging read—your writing flows effortlessly. Big fan here!Every time I read your work, I feel like I’m right there with you. Beautifully written!You have a real talent for storytelling. I couldn’t stop reading once I started.The way you express your thoughts is so natural and compelling. I’ll definitely be back for more!Wow—your writing is so vivid and alive. It’s hard not to get hooked!You really know how to connect with your readers. Your words resonate long after I finish reading.