DOJ announces voting and registration charges against five people in three states

The Justice Department announced on September 4 that five people had been charged in separate voting and voter-registration cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Four are accused of voting in federal elections while not U.S. citizens. The fifth, a U.S. citizen, is accused of helping his wife fraudulently register to vote.

The department identified two of the accused voters as illegal aliens. That description does not apply to all four based on the information in its announcement. The cases concern alleged conduct in the 2022 or 2024 elections.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Marisol Guzman, 50, of Carlisle, was indicted on a charge of voting as an alien in the November 2024 election. Her husband, Thomas Holtzman, 68, faces charges of aiding and abetting a false statement of citizenship and fraudulent voter registration. Prosecutors allege that he helped Guzman falsely claim U.S. citizenship on her registration form.

In a separate Pennsylvania case, Katya Rodriguez, 30, a Mexican national living in Harrisburg, was charged with making a false citizenship statement, fraudulent registration and voting as an alien. Prosecutors describe Rodriguez as unlawfully present in the United States and allege that she voted in the November 2024 election.

New Jersey

In New Jersey, Mercedes Alexandra Cardoso, 41, of Union County, was charged with voting as an alien. Prosecutors allege that Cardoso, who entered the country from Ecuador on a B-2 visa, falsely claimed citizenship when registering online and voted in the June 2024 federal primary.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Jesus Javier Jurado Garcia, 25, a Mexican citizen living in Beloit, was charged with voting as an alien. Prosecutors allege that he knowingly voted in the November 2022 federal election despite not being a U.S. citizen.

What the announcements establish

These are criminal allegations, not findings of guilt. The announcements describe individual prosecutions; they do not establish the prevalence of unlawful voting or that any election result was affected.