Nine Noncitizens in Pennsylvania Charged With Illegally Voting in the 2022 and 2024 Elections
Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania have charged nine noncitizens, most of them lawful permanent residents, with illegally voting in federal elections, the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania announced Friday.
The cases were announced by David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Brian Miller, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District, and were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, according to the Justice Department. Under both federal and state law, only U.S. citizens may vote in Pennsylvania, prosecutors noted.
Who Was Charged With Illegally Voting
Each defendant was charged by information with voting by an alien, according to the announcement. Four defendants from Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley and Main Line areas are charged in the Eastern District, and five from Selinsgrove, Harrisburg, Luzerne and Effort are charged in the Middle District. Their ages range from 21 to 80.
Prosecutors allege the defendants voted in the 2022 general election, the 2024 general election, or both. Eight of the nine are described as lawful permanent residents of the United States, and the defendants are citizens of countries including Cuba, Kenya, Poland, Russia, Greece and the Netherlands, according to the Justice Department.
One Philadelphia defendant charged with two counts faces a maximum of two years in prison, a fine, or both if convicted. The others each face a maximum of one year in prison, a fine, or both, prosecutors said.
What Prosecutors Said
"Upholding the integrity of our elections, and the right of American citizens to determine the outcome, is non-negotiable," Metcalf said. "Our democracy depends on it."
"Illegal voting is not a victimless crime but a serious affront to the principles of our democratic republic," Miller said.
"Illegally casting a ballot in a federal election corrupts the electoral process and diminishes the voice of every lawful voter," said Nathan Abel, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia.
The charges are accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, the Justice Department said. The cases come less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Image: James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, Philadelphia (file photo), Wobbanight, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
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Sources: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, "Nine Pennsylvania Non-Citizens Charged with Illegally Voting" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/nine-pennsylvania-non-citizens-charged-illegally-voting ; U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, same release (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/nine-pennsylvania-non-citizens-charged-illegally-voting
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