The Briefing:
- The Justice Department charged 16 noncitizens in North Carolina, New York, and Idaho on October 16 — the third round of 16 defendants charged in October 2026.
- Defendants include one illegal alien from El Salvador and 15 lawful permanent residents from Germany, Jamaica, Haiti, the United Kingdom, Bosnia, the former Yugoslavia, Panama, and Canada.
- Several defendants allegedly participated in four to nine election cycles without holding citizenship — some with voting records stretching back to 1998.
- One day prior, the DOJ sued California over a list of more than 20,000 alleged noncitizens on the state's voter rolls.
A national of the former Yugoslavia living in North Carolina allegedly cast ballots across nine separate federal elections — from 2008 through 2024 — without ever becoming a U.S. citizen. Federal prosecutors announced her arrest on Friday as part of a three-state sweep charging 16 foreign nationals with illegal voting, marking the third enforcement batch the Justice Department has released this October alone.
With the 2026 midterm elections fewer than three weeks away, the accelerating pace of federal enforcement signals the most concentrated push against noncitizen voting the department has mounted this close to a national election day.
The Scope of the Charges
The October 16 announcement spans three federal judicial districts. The Eastern District of North Carolina accounts for 10 defendants; five more were arrested in the Northern District of New York; and a single defendant was charged in the District of Idaho. Each case involves at least one federal felony count — either voting by an alien under 18 U.S.C. § 611, a false citizenship claim under § 1015(f), or both.
Who Was Charged — and How Long This Allegedly Continued
The most striking element of the North Carolina cases is sheer duration. Gjina Gojcaj McDonald, 60, a national of the former Yugoslavia and lawful permanent resident, allegedly voted in nine elections spanning 2008 through 2024 — including general elections, a 2019 special election, and a 2012 primary. German national Ramona Abreu-Exia, 71, faces charges for allegedly casting ballots across nine elections from 2004 to 2024, comprising eight general elections and a 2008 primary. Karl Fout, 73, also a German national, is accused of voting in seven federal elections. Canadian national Robert Harold Corbett, 69, reportedly registered in 1998 and cast ballots across seven election cycles — a pattern extending nearly three decades.
Prosecutors describe what appear to be sustained, multi-year voting histories by individuals who never naturalized. Other North Carolina defendants include Jamaican nationals Lawton Caswell McKenzie, 46, and Mervin Sylvester Bogle, 60; Haitian national Lionel Paul, 62; Panamanian national Ludgardys Olena Matthews, 62; and German national James Edward Herrmann, 47 — all lawful permanent residents facing dual charges.
The One Illegal Alien in the Batch
Unlike the other 15 defendants — all lawful permanent residents — Eduardd Omar Majano Sosa, 22, an El Salvadoran national, is listed in the DOJ announcement as an illegal alien. According to prosecutors, Majano Sosa registered to vote in 2024 and cast a ballot in the 2024 General Election, facing dual felony counts for both voting by an alien and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register.
The New York Five
In the Northern District of New York, five lawful permanent residents each face a single count of voting by an alien. The group includes British nationals Vikki Bradt, 51, and Samantha Merkle, 55, alongside Bosnian national Suad Sasic, 30, and Canadian nationals Jacques Patry, 64, and Paula Stitt, 57. All five allegedly participated in elections for President, members of Congress, or the U.S. Senate without holding citizenship.
The Idaho Defendant
The single defendant charged in the District of Idaho is Taralynn Bosco, 48, a Canadian national and lawful permanent resident. According to the DOJ press release, Bosco allegedly voted in the 2022 general election despite not being a United States citizen.
Part of a Coordinated October Offensive
Friday's charges did not emerge in isolation. The Trump administration's DOJ announced three separate batches of 16 defendants this month — on October 5, October 12, and October 16 — with November midterms approaching. According to Fox News Digital, citing DOJ figures provided directly to the outlet, federal prosecutors are now bringing more than twice as many election-fraud cases each week as they were earlier in the year.
The day before Friday's announcement, the DOJ escalated further, suing California after state officials declined to act on a federal list of more than 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement that no list was ever transmitted to her office, pointing out that her agency received only a demand — not the actual data. Governor Gavin Newsom publicly rejected the lawsuit, calling it an attempt to suppress California voters weeks before Election Day.
Legal Stakes and Broader Context
Each count of voting by an alien carries up to one year in federal prison; false citizenship claims connected to voting can carry up to five years under 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f). The DOJ includes a standard legal disclaimer in its announcement: all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Multiple studies have found that noncitizen voting is rare in the United States. A federal judge has also noted that aggressive last-minute voter roll removals could conflict with the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits systematic purges within 90 days of a federal election. Election law experts have raised due process concerns about the pace and scale of the current enforcement push.
Taken together, the three October batches represent 48 individuals charged across 15 states in fewer than two weeks — an unprecedented volume of federal election enforcement this close to a national vote.
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