The Department of Justice on Friday announced charges against five individuals for illegally voting or helping someone illegally register to vote in the 2022 and 2024 elections in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.
The case includes two people whom federal prosecutors identify as illegal immigrants, two other noncitizens, and one U.S. citizen accused of helping his wife illegally register and vote, according to the DOJ.
“The integrity of our elections, which are fundamental to democracy, should be of utmost importance to every American,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “It is a cherished right for eligible American citizens, and only eligible American citizens, to vote for their representatives in government. Election fraud is a serious crime, and it is the duty of the Department of Justice to treat it as such.”
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement that the charges emphasize the need for election security.
“Despite the media and Democrats claiming it never happens, the evidence of non-citizens registering to vote in our elections continues to pile up,” Bis said. “Any non-citizens found registering to vote and voting in our elections will be held accountable. Only Americans should be electing American leaders.”
Three of the defendants were charged in Pennsylvania: Thomas Holtzman, 68, and his wife, Marisol Guzman, 50, as well as Katya Rodriguez, 30.
Holtzman and Guzman, from Carlisle, were indicted on charges stemming from the latter allegedly voting as a noncitizen in the 2024 elections. Guzman was charged with voting as an illegal immigrant, while Holtzman, a U.S. citizen, was charged with making a false statement of citizenship and aiding and abetting fraudulent registration by helping Guzman vote.
Rodriguez, a Mexican national living in Harrisburg, was separately indicted on charges of making a false statement of citizenship, fraudulent registration, and voting as an illegal immigrant in the 2024 election, prosecutors said.
Holtzman and Rodriguez face maximum prison sentences of 10 and 11 years, respectively, if convicted, while Guzman faces up to one year.
Prosecutors said Cardoso was in the United States on a B-2 visa and cast a ballot in the state’s June 2024 primary. She faces up to one year in prison if convicted.
In Wisconsin, prosecutors charged Jesus Javier Jurado Garcia, a 25-year-old Mexican national, with voting as an illegal immigrant in the November 2022 midterm election. Prosecutors allege Jurado Garcia voted despite knowing he was not a U.S. citizen. He faces up to one year in prison.
NEW JERSEY KEEPS TWO CONTRACTS WITH VENDOR THAT GOV. SHERRILL BLAMES FOR VOTER REGISTRATION ERROR
In New Jersey, Mercedes Alexandra Cardoso was charged with voting as an illegal immigrant. Prosecutors allege she falsely certified that she was a U.S. citizen when she registered through the state’s online voter registration system.
The time in which Cardoso allegedly registered to vote despite not meeting citizenship requirements is the same time period in which about 6,600 noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote through New Jersey’s automatic voter registration system. Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) claimed that a “software error” caused thousands of noncitizens to be added to the state’s voter rolls.