DOJ Charges 63 People in Nationwide Voter Fraud Cases

Federal election investigations expanded across the United States as the Justice Department announced 63 election-related charges involving alleged illegal voter registration and voting in 15 states, just before the 2026 midterm elections. The cases include lawful permanent residents in California and a Samoan national accused of voting in Utah during the 2024 presidential election.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the nationwide prosecutions on Monday, describing the operation as the largest recent enforcement effort against alleged voter fraud since Donald Trump returned to office. According to the Justice Department, 195 people have faced charges across 25 states over the preceding nine weeks.

Blanche said the department intended to continue pursuing cases involving noncitizens who allegedly participated in elections despite being legally ineligible.

"These foreign nationals allegedly took advantage of the trust of the American people and flouted the laws that govern our nation's elections," said Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney General.

The California cases formed a significant part of the announcement. Federal prosecutors in the state charged six additional lawful permanent residents, while the Sacramento Bee reported that 12 people in California had been arrested or charged on Monday. Authorities alleged that the individuals registered to vote or participated in elections despite lacking U.S. citizenship.

According to the Guardian, five of the six newly charged defendants had been arrested. Each faces an allegation of making false statements on a naturalization application after allegedly registering to vote and subsequently denying previous registration when applying for citizenship. These complaints do not include separate charges specifically alleging fraudulent voting. Prosecutors said the offenses carry maximum sentences of five years in prison.

In Sacramento, Meryll Quirong Costi, 36, appeared in federal court after surrendering to authorities. FBI Special Agent Laura Giouzelis said an affidavit documented ballots returned by Costi in 2022 and 2024. Her attorney, Kyle Knapp, questioned the circumstances surrounding the prosecution.

"I understand what the allegations are against my client, but both the crime charged and the timing of this prosecution to me are something that truly needs to be explored," said Kyle Knapp, Costi's attorney.

Knapp described his client's emotional condition following her arrest.

"She's beside herself," said Kyle Knapp, Costi's attorney.

Costi's court appearance followed an investigation that included interviews with immigration authorities and FBI agents. According to the affidavit, she remembered receiving ballots but only "vaguely" remembered completing a voter registration form. Her attorney said he intended to investigate how her registration occurred and why election authorities sent her ballots.

"I look forward to truly finding out what the true facts are as to how and why she registered to vote and how that got transmitted, such that she received ballots," said Kyle Knapp, Costi's attorney.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire released Costi on her own recognizance and scheduled her next hearing for November 30. Her attorney said she was "mortified" by the prosecution. The Sacramento Bee reported that she appeared in court wearing clothing marked "Prisoner" and restraints.

Utah was also included in the nationwide investigation. Court records identified a Samoan national accused of illegally voting in the 2024 presidential election. Authorities arrested the individual in Alaska the previous week and filed a class A misdemeanor charge.

The defendant denied the allegation during a Friday hearing, received a public defender and was released. A conviction could bring up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Separate from the criminal cases, the Justice Department has pursued legal action against California over approximately 20,000 ballots that federal officials believe may involve noncitizen registrations. The department asked election officials to withhold those ballots until citizenship could be verified. California officials challenged the request, arguing that the federal database contained errors and that separating the ballots could disenfranchise eligible voters.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the administration's emergency request on Monday after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had also rejected similar efforts. Federal District Judge David Carter previously described the intervention as unprecedented and an attempt to interfere with the state's election process.

Federal prosecutor Bill Essayli defended the investigation, acknowledging that the government relied on external information sources to identify potentially ineligible voters.

Essayli said prosecutors used "third-party databases" and acknowledged that the information "may not be 100%" accurate, while maintaining there was a "very, very high confidence rate" in the findings.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter had previously acknowledged the possibility of mistakes in the federal database.

"There may be some names on there who, it turns out, ultimately are citizens. We're not perfect, and that's why we've asked California to cooperate with us," said Trent McCotter, acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General.

An immigrants' rights organization challenged the reliability of the California voter list in a court filing over the weekend. Its analysis found that more than 40% of the people identified as potentially fraudulent voters could not be located in the state's voter registration records. The approximately 20,000 names represent a small proportion of California's more than 23 million registered voters.

The Justice Department has also faced criticism for threatening criminal prosecution against election officials who process ballots it considers fraudulent. A federal judge issued an order blocking the administration from continuing such threats.

The judge criticized the government's conduct, describing its actions as "intimidation, threats, and attempts at coercion force election workers daily to choose between acceding to [the DoJ's] unlawful demands or adhering to their duties and thereby subjecting themselves to a serious risk of criminal investigation and prosecution".

In Utah, a May audit of more than 2 million voter registration records found that 99.72% of registered voters could be verified as U.S. citizens. The review identified approximately 27 alleged noncitizens and 25 additional possible noncitizens. Around 13 individuals from the combined groups had reportedly cast ballots.

Utah election auditors also said they "did not observe significant fraud" during their review of the June primary. A study commissioned by the state Legislature and conducted by Utah Valley University described the state's election system as "highly secure."

The Justice Department's nationwide enforcement campaign comes amid broader disputes over election administration. The administration has filed lawsuits against election officials in Utah and 29 other states, along with Washington, D.C., seeking access to complete voter registration databases. A federal judge dismissed the case against Utah Lt.

Gov. Deidre Henderson, while district courts rejected 26 other similar lawsuits.

The department has also cited a separate Utah postal worker investigation as evidence of election-related misconduct. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the alleged disposal of hundreds of mail ballots demonstrated that "voting fraud is real." The postal worker, Damon Matai Seei, was indicted in September on a felony charge involving the alleged destruction or delay of mail ballots.

The administration has additionally announced plans to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states, including 12 monitors in Salt Lake County, as the midterm elections proceed.