WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department announced on Monday, October 26, that 48 noncitizens have been charged in five states in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and related election crimes. The cases include voting by noncitizens in federal elections and false claims of U.S. citizenship made to register to vote or to vote, the department said.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
California accounts for 28 of the 48 defendants, spread across four federal districts, according to the department's case list. Pennsylvania accounts for nine defendants, Florida for six, New York for four and Nevada for one. Most of those charged are described by the department as lawful permanent residents — green-card holders who are not U.S. citizens and are not eligible to vote in federal elections.
Two of the defendants are Indian nationals. Amandeep Kaur, 30, a lawful permanent resident who is seeking to become a U.S. citizen, allegedly registered to vote in December 2022 and voted in the November 2024 U.S. election, the department said. Kamlesh Navnitlal Shah, 67, a lawful permanent resident, allegedly registered to vote on the day of the November 2024 general election and voted that day, and has been charged by information, according to the department. Both accounts are allegations set out by prosecutors, not findings by a court.
Several California defendants face additional felony charges of making false statements in naturalization applications or interviews — allegedly denying, under oath, that they had ever claimed to be U.S. citizens or voted, when prosecutors say they had registered or voted. In the Eastern District of New York, the department said two defendants, Irish national Eoin Cranney, 35, and Guyanese national Ronald Sheldon Baird, 47, admitted in voluntary interviews with federal agents, in substance, that they were not citizens and had voted in the 2024 federal general election knowing that.
The announcement was also reported the same day by other U.S. outlets summarising the department's release, including WiseVoter's national roundup, which carried the same headline figure and several of the same named defendants.
Source: WiseVoter
The Justice Department stressed that a complaint, indictment and information merely contain accusations, and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The charges were announced eight days before the November 3 midterm elections; the defendants will appear in the federal courts where their cases were filed.