Texas Charges Seven Noncitizens With Illegal Voting in 2024
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould announced charges against seven noncitizens in Tarrant County, Texas, for allegedly voting illegally or falsely claiming citizenship in federal elections. Six were indicted September 10; a seventh was charged by criminal complaint September 11.
- 6 of the 7 defendants are lawful permanent residents; one is a Mexican national previously ordered deported.
- 2 defendants cast provisional ballots that were subsequently rejected, though charges still apply.
- Lying on a voter registration form carries up to 2 years in prison; illegal voting carries up to 1 year.
- Texas Secretary of State referred 117 additional potential noncitizen voters to the attorney general Tuesday.
Why it matters: Noncitizen voting is a federal crime regardless of which candidate received the ballot, prosecutors said. The cases test how aggressively federal law will be enforced against legal residents as well as undocumented individuals.
- Prosecutors said they do not know — and are not focused on — which candidate the defendants voted for.
- The DOJ charged five people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin earlier this month in similar cases.
How 19 sources split on this story
Where they split: Democrats and a DHS whistleblower allege the federal voter-identification program accessed state voter records in ways that may violate state laws; DHS says it used only publicly available data it was legally entitled to cross-reference.
Right coverage, 16 sources: The right frames the arrests as proof that noncitizen voting is real and underprosecuted, crediting the Trump administration's access to the SAVE database and aggressive enforcement posture for delivering accountability.
What’s next: Raybould said the seven indictments are the beginning of further enforcement action in the district.
- Arrest warrants are outstanding for two additional unnamed suspects in the same investigation.
- How many of the 117 cases referred by the Texas Secretary of State will result in charges?
- Will courts rule that federal investigators' access to state voter records was lawful?
- Do the total confirmed illegal ballots — including two rejected provisional votes — represent an isolated pattern or a larger systemic problem?
