Ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3, U.S. general election, the Justice Department on Monday, Oct. 26, grouped 48 defendants from five states in a national roundup of election-related charges announced earlier this month.
The total covers 28 people in California, nine in Pennsylvania, six in Florida, four in New York and one in Nevada. The department announced the 28 California cases on Oct. 19. Its offices released the cases in the other four states on Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23.
The allegations vary. They include voting as a noncitizen, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship during voter registration and making false statements in naturalization proceedings. The department describes 47 defendants as lawful permanent residents and one Pennsylvania defendant, Alfredo Santiesteban, as living in the United States unlawfully. The defendants are presumed innocent.
The 48-person figure does not establish how many ballots were cast. California prosecutors accuse José Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz of registering to vote and later making a false statement in naturalization paperwork, but they do not allege that he voted. He told The Associated Press, “I have never voted because I know I can’t vote.”
The department said the California defendants were among more than 20,000 registrants it had flagged to state officials as likely noncitizens. The charges against 28 people do not establish the citizenship or voting history of others on that list. The department said 11 California defendants were arrested when it announced those cases.
The alleged conduct includes activity connected to the 2022 and 2024 general elections and a June 2026 primary. Federal law generally prohibits noncitizens from voting in elections for federal offices. A violation of that voting provision carries a maximum one-year prison term; some false-statement allegations in California carry a maximum of five years.
The department’s roundup provides no total for ballots cast by the defendants and identifies no election result that changed. The next U.S. general election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
