Federal prosecutors announced charges against Filipino citizens on Thursday, saying they had illegally registered in the 2020 presidential election and voted in Pennsylvania.
Emily Custodio, 51, signed in July 2020 using Pennsylvania’s online voter registration system, answered “yes” when asked if she is a U.S. citizen and is eligible to vote. Prosecutors said she was not a U.S. citizen in fact.
Pennsylvania has joined her voter based on her self-directory.
That November, she voted in person, made a photo ID card, and once again claimed that her signature was that she was a U.S. citizen.
She was charged with foreign voter fraud and illegal voting.
“Electional fraud of any kind undermines the public trust of our system, and illegal voting by non-citizens dilutes the voices of legitimate American voters,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia.
She entered a “innocence” plea on Wednesday and was released before trial.
Under federal law, only citizens can vote in elections in state offices.
The case is the latest in a series of non-referendum cases, challenging the claim that such practices have not happened to voting rights groups.
This year alone, federal authorities have identified cases in North Carolina, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and Florida, where several cases have been brought to the table.
According to the court files of the case, most are registered legal immigrants, while some are illegal immigrants who live here with stolen identities.
