The Justice Department says it charged 63 people across 15 states with alleged illegal voting and related crimes on the eve of the midterms; Democrats call the wider crackdown intimidation.
Charges announced one day before Election Day
On Monday, Nov. 2, the U.S. Justice Department said it had charged 63 people in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related election crimes. The announcement came less than a day before Americans vote in the 2026 midterm elections.
According to a department press release, the cases span 15 states. They include alleged voting by noncitizens in federal elections, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote, and a fraudulent registration filed in another state. Four of those charged are described as illegal aliens. Many others are lawful permanent residents, who may live in the United States legally but still may not vote in federal elections.
The department posted the news on X and linked to its full case list. Attorney General Todd Blanche called the move “the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office.” He said the department would keep investigating “to restore confidence in our electoral system.”
What the numbers show
Key figures from the Justice Department and free reporting:
- 63 people named in Monday’s announcement across 15 states
- 195 noncitizens charged in the past nine weeks across 25 states, the department said
- 239 people charged with voting-fraud-related offenses since the start of this administration
- The package includes cases already in court in late October, not only new Monday arrests
The Salt Lake Tribune and the Washington Examiner both covered the announcement as an election-eve development. A complaint or indictment is an accusation. The department’s release states that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
How each side frames it
Republicans and the White House cast the prosecutions as proof that election crimes are real and will be punished. On X, the White House wrote Monday evening: “No room for election fraud. Those participating in illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and election related crimes will be prosecuted.”
Democrats describe the broader federal push as pressure that can scare eligible voters. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said Democrats are standing up a “war room” to fight what he calls Trump’s effort to interfere with the midterms. In an X post Monday about California ballots, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that interference with elections would face state pushback and that “every eligible vote will be counted.”
NBC News reported Nov. 1 that most people charged in the wider noncitizen-voting push so far have been lawfully present, often green-card holders, and that the prosecutions remain a tiny share of the roughly 174 million registered voters nationwide.
What it means for voters
Federal law bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections. Monday’s cases do not, by themselves, show that any race’s outcome changed. Polls open Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Sources: Justice Department press release; Justice Department on X; White House on X; Washington Examiner; Salt Lake Tribune; NBC News; Democracy Docket; Gavin Newsom on X
