New Indictments Spread Across North Carolina Districts
Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, against 18 noncitizens accused of voting illegally in past elections across North Carolina (WRAL). The announcement follows similar charges brought earlier in October against a dozen other individuals, bringing the total number of prosecuted cases to 30. Unlike the previous wave of indictments which concentrated in the Eastern District, Thursday’s charges span across the state: nine in the Eastern District, five in the Middle District, and four in the Western District. Prosecutors allege that the defendants illegally registered to vote or cast ballots in previous electoral contests, including the 2024 presidential election.
“Every unlawful ballot silences the voice of a lawful voter, striking at the core of our great nation,” Ellis Boyle, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said in a public statement. The prosecutions carry maximum prison penalties ranging from one to five years upon conviction. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stated that the ongoing investigations are designed to safeguard election integrity and ensure that only eligible individuals participate.
State Database Cross-Checks and DMV Role
According to state election officials, the charging decisions were built on data gathered from cross-referencing voter rolls with federal databases. Sam Hayes, who leads the State Board of Elections, explained in an interview that the investigative timeline was extended by legal battles surrounding the deployment of the SAVE database for voter list maintenance. Following a U.S. Supreme Court order allowing the database’s use, state officials conducted independent reviews to minimize false positives and prevent wrongful accusations against U.S. citizens.
“We had to do our own analysis, and that took some time,” Hayes said, noting that the state forwarded additional names beyond the 30 individuals formally charged so far. State records indicate that approximately 1,300 voters flagged as potential noncitizens had previously received inquiry letters. Officials noted that many noncitizens obtain driver’s licenses through the Department of Motor Vehicles, where administrative errors can occasionally lead to individuals being placed on voter lists without eligibility to cast ballots. Hayes commended DMV Commissioner Paul Tine for cooperating with state investigators during the review.
Broader Political and Legal Battles Over Election Monitors
The latest indictments coincide with the U.S. Justice Department’s deployment of federal election monitors to Wake, Alamance, and Mecklenburg counties for the upcoming Tuesday elections. The Trump administration has expanded its monitoring program nationwide, aiming to dispatch roughly 1,000 observers to all 50 states, more than double the deployment seen during the 2022 midterms. Civil rights advocates and Democratic leaders have challenged these federal efforts. Hilary Harris Klein, a voting rights attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, questioned the timing of the indictments as early voting is already underway, arguing that focusing on a small number of noncitizen votes risks creating an environment of fear while thousands of legitimate ballots face rejection under stricter new identification and mail-in voting rules.