RALEIGH – A federal grand jury has indicted 10 noncitizens on charges tied to voter registration and voting in North Carolina’s 2024 general election, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The indictments are accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The federal office announced the cases Thursday after agents arrested the defendants and court records were unsealed.
All 10 defendants are charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register and vote, the Justice Department said. Nine also face a charge of voting by an alien. The false-citizenship charge carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison, although any sentence would be determined by a judge if a defendant is convicted.
The defendants live in Cumberland, Granville, Harnett, Robeson, Wake and Wayne counties. The federal release describes nine as lawful permanent residents and one as living in the country without legal authorization. Prosecutors allege that some registered or voted in multiple elections dating back years, but the current cases center on alleged false citizenship claims and voting in the 2024 election.
WRAL reported that nine defendants made initial appearances Thursday in federal court in Raleigh, while another was expected to appear in New Bern. The outlet reported that most of the Raleigh defendants were released without having to post bail. None entered a plea during the initial appearances.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations handled the cases with assistance from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, according to the federal release. State elections board Executive Director Sam Hayes said the agency investigates election-fraud allegations and works with state and federal prosecutors.
The announcement came as in-person early voting began for North Carolina’s 2026 general election. The indictments do not establish guilt or, by themselves, show how frequently noncitizen voting occurs statewide.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office: Ten federal indictments alleging noncitizen voting
- WRAL: Court appearances in the federal cases
- Carolina Journal: Indictments and initial appearances
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Justice/FBI. Official event photograph published with the Oct. 15, 2026, EDNC press release; public domain unless otherwise indicated. Source: U.S. Department of Justice. Rights: DOJ Copyright Status and Citation. Cropped for layout.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.