Ten Indictments, a Question of Trust, and a Small Fraction of Votes

There is a particular weight that attaches to the act of voting—a moment when a person, regardless of origin or circumstance, participates in the shaping of a nation. It is a privilege reserved for citizens, and the law is clear that it must remain so. On Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that a federal grand jury had indicted ten lawful permanent residents accused of voting illegally or attempting to do so in Minnesota elections, including the state’s August 2026 primary .

The ten defendants, originally from Liberia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Bosnia, Germany, Ghana, and Lithuania, allegedly lied to election officials by claiming U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote. They are accused of voting in the 2022 and 2024 general elections, according to court records . The charges vary: some face counts of falsely claiming citizenship, others of voting by an alien, and several face both. Making a false citizenship claim to vote is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Voting by a noncitizen is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year and a $100,000 fine .

“Voter fraud erodes the public’s trust in our electoral system,” Blanche said at a press conference, “and it’s vital to our democratic process that we do everything that we can to restore that trust. The most basic way the Department of Justice can accomplish this restoration of trust is by working to make sure the only people voting in an election in the United States are American citizens who are eligible to vote” .

The announcement brings the number of noncitizens charged nationwide with election-related crimes since President Trump took office to 90. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin framed the indictments as confirmation of the administration’s longstanding claims about election integrity, saying the president “said it for a long time, and the Democrats were sitting there denying it” . However, the allegations made virtually no difference to election results. The seven alleged illegal votes in the 2024 presidential election, for example, would account for only 0.0002% of votes cast in Minnesota that year .

The defendants were charged separately and have made their initial appearances in federal court. Their cases will proceed individually, each carrying its own set of facts and legal questions. For the Justice Department, the indictments represent a continued focus on an issue that has animated the administration’s political messaging. For the defendants, they represent the beginning of a legal process that could end in prison, fines, or deportation.

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Sources: Fox News, U.S. Department of Justice, Louisiana Illuminator, Fox Bangor