Justice Department Charges 63 People in Voting Cases Across 15 States

The Justice Department announced November 2 that it had charged 63 people in 15 states with election-related crimes, including alleged illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and false claims of U.S. citizenship, one day before the midterms.

Four of the defendants were described by the department as being in the country illegally. The department said it has now charged 195 people in 25 states with voting or registration offenses in the past nine weeks, a surge timed to the election season.

The announcement drew sharply different reactions. Administration officials presented it as evidence of stepped-up enforcement of election law. Critics, including voting-rights advocates, questioned the timing, arguing that a mass announcement the day before voting risked deterring lawful voters.

Charges are allegations, not convictions, and the cases will be tested in court. Election-law experts note that documented cases of illegal voting in U.S. elections have historically been rare relative to the tens of millions of ballots cast.

The department said the cases were brought by U.S. attorneys' offices across the country and involve a range of alleged conduct, from individual improper votes to falsified registration records. It did not say how many of the charged votes, if any, affected an election outcome.