The Justice Department just delivered a blunt reminder that election crimes are not a theory, a talking point or an excuse for bureaucrats to look the other way.
They are federal crimes—and on Monday, the department announced charges and guilty pleas involving 12 people across the country.
The package includes alleged illegal voting by noncitizens, fraudulent voter registration, false citizenship claims and a former postal carrier accused of discarding mail that included approximately 300 mail-in ballots.
The Justice Department summarized the cases in a widely shared post:
️ELECTION CRIME CASES: Today, the Justice Department announced charges and guilty pleas involving 12 individuals, including three illegal aliens, in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related election crimes across the country.
The cases include:
Voting by aliens in federal elections
False claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote
False statements on citizenship applications
The alleged disposal of approximately 300 mail-in ballots by a former postal carrier
Read more about each case here: https://t.co/1AjlmUlD4c
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 28, 2026
The cases span Florida, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Hawaii and Utah. They are not all at the same procedural stage: some defendants have pleaded guilty, while others have only been charged and remain presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
That distinction matters. So does the pattern described in the charging documents.
In Florida, a Canadian national was charged with voting in three federal elections despite allegedly knowing she was not a U.S. citizen. A Haitian national who held Temporary Protected Status pleaded guilty to falsely claiming citizenship to register and vote in the 2024 election.
In Kansas, prosecutors charged a Nigerian lawful permanent resident with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship while registering to vote and allegedly casting a ballot in the 2024 election.
The international reach of that allegation quickly drew attention:
New Jersey produced two more cases. The Justice Department says Jamaican national Patrick Terrance Reid voted in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections in person, then voted by mail in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections—an alleged pattern spanning four national contests, two different voting methods and more than a decade without U.S. citizenship.
Venezuelan national Danubis Bernat allegedly voted in 2024.
Both were also charged with making false statements while applying for U.S. citizenship, tying the alleged voting conduct to later representations made directly to federal immigration authorities.
The New Jersey allegations stretch across four presidential cycles, which makes the Reid case especially serious. Prosecutors are not describing a registration error discovered and corrected; they allege repeated voting over more than a decade.
The department also says Reid and Bernat concealed their conduct while seeking the privileges of citizenship, adding a separate alleged deception beyond the ballots themselves.
Four defendants were charged in eastern Pennsylvania, including two people the department described as illegal aliens. One Haitian national allegedly submitted eight fraudulent voter-registration applications and voted in 2022.
A Mexican national allegedly voted in Chester County in both 2022 and 2024.
A Trinidad and Tobago national and another Mexican national were separately accused of voting while ineligible.
None of those Pennsylvania charging documents is a conviction. Together, however, they show the department using registration applications, voting records and immigration status to build specific, individual cases rather than making a broad political claim.
Texas and Hawaii add two more cases. A Mexican lawful permanent resident was charged after records allegedly showed she registered using a Texas driver’s license and voted in 2024.
A Filipino lawful permanent resident pleaded guilty after casting a mail ballot in Hawaii’s 2024 election.
Then there is Utah.
Federal prosecutors charged former postal carrier Damon Matai Seei with unlawfully secreting, destroying and delaying mail. The department says the discarded material included approximately 300 mail-in ballots intended for registered voters.
That allegation is different from an ineligible person casting one ballot. It concerns a trusted government employee allegedly interfering with hundreds of citizens’ election mail before it ever reached their hands.
One current reaction captured both the seriousness of the package and the need for precision:
DOJ JUST DROPPED A 12-PERSON ELECTION-CRIME PACKAGE AND NEW JERSEY + PHILLY ARE ALL OVER IT.
This is a lot.
DOJ announced charges and guilty pleas involving 12 people across multiple states in cases involving alleged illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, false citizenship claims and other election-related crimes.
New Jersey: DOJ says a Jamaican lawful permanent resident voted in the 2012, 2016, 2020 AND 2024 presidential elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.
A Venezuelan lawful permanent resident is accused of voting in the 2024 election.
Both are also charged over alleged false statements while applying for U.S. citizenship.
Philadelphia / Eastern PA: four noncitizens were charged with election-related crimes. Two are described by DOJ as unlawfully present in the United States. The allegations include fraudulent voter registration and voting as a noncitizen.
And then there’s Utah.
A former postal worker is accused of dumping mail that included approximately 300 MAIL-IN BALLOTS that were supposed to be delivered to registered voters.
One very important distinction because election stories turn into bullshit at warp speed:
This is a mixture of criminal charges and guilty pleas. Charges are allegations, not convictions. And 12 cases do not by themselves establish widespread election fraud.
But twelve federal election-crime cases announced in one package?
Jesus Christ.
That deserves attention.
— AmyButtermaker (@Amy_Buttermaker) September 28, 2026
She is right about the distinction. These 12 cases do not establish systemic corruption, and every newly charged defendant remains entitled to due process.
Due process demands evidence, adjudication and consequences wherever prosecutors prove their charges.
For years, Americans who raised concerns about noncitizen voting, registration safeguards and mail-ballot custody were routinely told the risks were imaginary or too rare to matter. The department’s own case list shows why that smug answer was never good enough.
Election integrity is not about overturning results someone dislikes. It is about protecting every lawful voter from dilution, fraud and official negligence before the damage occurs.
Twelve cases will not solve that problem. Enforcing the law, publishing the facts and refusing to treat election safeguards as partisan inconveniences is at least a serious start.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up. View the original article here.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
