Five noncitizens have been criminally charged in Michigan over allegations that they illegally voted or attempted to vote in connection with the 2024 general election, state Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday.
The charges emerged from dozens of cases referred to the Michigan Department of Attorney General as state officials investigated suspected instances of noncitizen voting and other election-related conduct.
Throughout 2025, the Michigan Department of State referred 16 cases involving suspected noncitizen voting in the November 2024 general election to Nessel’s office.
Another 22 cases were referred in 2026 involving suspected noncitizen voting or related activity in elections spanning from 2009 through 2025.
Of the 38 cases referred to the attorney general’s office, six have resulted in criminal charges, 10 have been closed without charges and 22 remain under review.
Five of the six people charged are noncitizens. The sixth is a US citizen accused of registering a noncitizen spouse to vote.
The five noncitizens include lawful permanent residents, a limited-term alien resident and a United Kingdom resident. None held US citizenship, according to Nessel’s office.
They face a range of misdemeanor and felony charges, including fraudulent registration, election law forgery, perjury, making false statements on absentee ballot materials and attempting to vote as an unqualified elector.
Potential penalties range from 90 days behind bars to several years in prison, depending on the individual charge.
Nessel said her office would continue pursuing election-related crimes while emphasizing that instances of noncitizen voting remain rare.
“In my office, we’ve always taken election crimes seriously, and prosecute attacks on our voting systems to the fullest extent of the law,” Nessel said.
“We’re upholding election integrity by investigating all claims of non-citizen voters, as rare as they are, and holding bad actors accountable when they refuse to abide by the laws that keep our elections safe and secure,” she continued.
The attorney general said the charges demonstrate the potential consequences for people accused of violating Michigan election laws.
“These charges reflect the severity of the allegations, the sanctity of our democracy, and the tremendous consequences of voting illegally — whether that’s done to try and ‘test’ security measures or to make an unlawful vote count,” Nessel said.
The investigation also demonstrated that referrals involving suspected noncitizen voting do not necessarily result in criminal charges.
Among the 10 cases that were closed, investigators determined that two of the individuals referred to the attorney general were US citizens.
Another individual was presumed to be a citizen based on an international adoption at an early age, although records were incomplete.
Investigators also examined the case of a federally recognized American Indian born in Canada who did not possess US citizenship or voting rights.
Nessel said some investigations have been complicated by limitations on state officials’ access to federal citizenship records.
Michigan officials have taken action against voter registrations associated with identified noncitizen voters regardless of whether criminal charges were ultimately filed.
According to the attorney general’s office, the voter registrations associated with every identified noncitizen voter in the referrals have been canceled.
All five noncitizens facing charges are alleged to have cast ballots among the more than 5.7 million ballots submitted in Michigan during the November 2024 general election, per Trending Politics.
The cases represent a tiny fraction of the total votes cast statewide, but come amid continued national debate over election security and safeguards intended to prevent individuals who are not US citizens from participating in federal and state elections.
