16 Charged in Justice Department’s Election Crimes Sweep: The Cases, State by State

The Justice Department announced on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, that 16 people have been charged with election crimes in federal courts in nine states. Fourteen are accused of voting in federal elections while not U.S. citizens. One man is accused of voting twice in the 2024 general election, and one is accused of trying to cast his dead wife’s ballot, according to the department’s announcement.

The department released the cases as a list, district by district. Below, each case is set out with what prosecutors allege. Every defendant is presumed innocent.

Voting twice, and a dead spouse’s ballot

• North Carolina and Alabama: Forrest Scott Woody, 68, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, is charged in the Northern District of Alabama with voting more than once. The indictment says he voted in Henderson County, North Carolina, in the 2024 general election and then voted again in Calhoun County, Alabama.
• New Mexico: Patrick Perea, 62, of Tijeras, is charged with fraudulent voting for trying to cast his late wife’s absentee ballot in the 2024 general election. The court record in his case is set out in detail here.

Non-citizens accused of voting

• Pennsylvania (four cases): Hacina Saadi, 48, of France, who prosecutors say is in the country illegally; Jamil Ahmad, 50, and Nighat Jamil, 47, both Pakistani nationals and lawful permanent residents; and Paulo Silva, 54, a Portuguese national and lawful permanent resident. Each is charged by information with voting as a non-citizen in the 2024 election.
• Alabama (two cases): Silvia Delgado Phelps, 78, a Peruvian national, is accused of voting in multiple elections in Baldwin County. Staciann Pollion Davis, 42, a Jamaican national, is accused of voting in the November 2024 general election in Clarke County. Both are lawful permanent residents.
• Missouri: Andre’s Garcia, 64, a Cuban national and lawful permanent resident, is charged with illegally voting in the November 2022 and November 2024 federal elections. Prosecutors say he claimed to be a citizen when he registered in 2004 and again in 2013, and voted in at least 15 elections over 20 years.
• Idaho: Stanley Walton, 82, a Canadian national, is accused of voting in the 2022 general election.
• New Jersey: Lizabeth Almonte Rosa, 24, now a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic, is charged with voting as a non-citizen and unlawfully procuring citizenship. Prosecutors say she was not a citizen when she was registered to vote.
• Ohio (three cases): Cary Ann Patterson, 59, a British national, is accused of voting in November 2024 and in at least 10 elections after a 2005 registration card marked “Yes” to the citizenship question. Arshed Zuberi, 69, a Pakistani national, is accused of voting in at least six elections in Cuyahoga County. Eliza M. Moss, 63, a Filipino national, is accused of voting in several primary and general elections.
• Hawaii: Dawid Nalepa, 45, a Polish national, is accused of voting in the November 2024 general election. Prosecutors say he came to the U.S. around 2020 on the Visa Waiver Program and overstayed.
• Kentucky: Sandra Madeline Watson, 59, a Canadian national and lawful permanent resident, is accused of voting in a federal election knowing she was not a citizen.

The Idaho defendant missing from the list

The national announcement lists one Idaho case. But on Oct. 7, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Idaho filed charges against two people. Besides Walton, now of Chubbuck, it charged Taralynn Kathleen Bosco, 48, a Canadian citizen who was living in Rexburg, with voting in the 2022 general election although she was not a citizen.

Both are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Oct. 26, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham. The Idaho office said each faces up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 if convicted.

How the charges were filed

The cases were not all brought the same way. Some defendants were indicted by a grand jury, some were charged by criminal complaint, and the Pennsylvania and Hawaii defendants were charged by information, a charging document filed by prosecutors without a grand jury vote. The announcement did not say whether any of the 16 have agreed to plead guilty.

What happens next

In New Mexico, Perea’s arraignment was set for 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2026, according to the federal docket. In Idaho, Bosco and Walton are due in court on Oct. 26, 2026. The department did not list court dates for the other cases.

Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The allegations have not been proven in court.