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Sunday, September 20, 2026

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Justice Department · Sunday, September 20, 2026

Justice Department charges 16 in illegal-voting cases

The File desk · Sep. 20, 2026, 6:03 a.m. ET

Confirmed1 primary sources

Status

Confirmed (DOJ OPA PR 26-1082, Sept. 18, 2026)
The Justice Department announced charges Friday against 16 people in connection with illegal voting, illegal voter registration, and related election-fraud schemes. Cases span federal districts in Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Michigan. The release describes alleged noncitizen voting, false citizenship claims when registering or voting, and, in some cases, related , naturalization fraud, passport fraud, or unlawful firearm counts. Named defendants include people the department describes as lawful permanent residents and people it describes as present illegally. All are accused and presumed innocent.
The Justice Department announced charges Friday against 16 people in connection with illegal voting, illegal voter registration, and related election-fraud schemes.
The cases span federal districts in Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Michigan.
The release describes alleged noncitizen voting, false citizenship claims when registering or voting, and, in some cases, related , naturalization fraud, passport fraud, or unlawful firearm counts.
Named defendants include people the department describes as lawful permanent residents and people it describes as present illegally.
All 16 are accused. All are presumed innocent.
How we know

What is still unknown or disputed

  • An eighth Northern District of Texas defendant is not named in the release; charging documents are not linked for every defendant; ages are missing for some named people.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Department of Justice Charges 16 Individuals for Illegal Voting and Related Election Crimes

    U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs · September 18, 2026

    Today, the Justice Department announced charges against 16 individuals in connection with illegal voting, illegal voter registration, and related election-fraud schemes across the country.

    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-charges-16-individuals-illegal-voting-and-related-election-crimes