Non-Citizens Charged For Voting In 2024 Elections

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/13/2026) Five non-citizens are facing criminal charges alleging they voted illegally in the 2024 state elections, but prosecutors declined charges against 10 others, including two noncitizens who collectively voted 11 times since 2010.

Attorney General Dana Nessel said prosecutors couldn't prove six of the 10 knowingly violated election law and, in some cases, couldn't rule out that government agencies had improperly registered them or encouraged them to vote.

Those cases included a Detroit lawful permanent resident who had been registered since 2003 and voted four times between 2010 and 2024, and a Grand Blanc man who voted seven times since 2011.

Nessel said a closed case also included a Grand Rapids man who is allowed to work in the United States and who voted in 2024. His voter registration had been challenged in 2018, but his status was affirmed and reactivated by a local clerk that same year.

Their voter registrations have since been canceled.

The AG’s office also declined to prosecute four others after investigations raised separate citizenship issues. Two were determined to be U.S. citizens while another, who had been internationally adopted as an infant decades ago, is presumed to be a citizen.

Nessel said the latter individual’s federal alien file is both missing and not replicable due to the passage of time.

A fourth individual has a special federal residence status as an American Indian born in Canada.

Nessel said investigators also encountered difficulty obtaining citizenship records from federal agencies, which contributed to the length of the investigation.

Throughout 2025, the Department of State referred 16 cases of suspected non-citizen voting in the November 2024general election to the AG’s office, and referred an additional 22 cases in 2026 concerning similar conduct in elections spanning from 2009 to 2025.

Six cases have resulted in criminal charges since March — five involving noncitizens accused of voting and one involving a U.S. citizen accused of registering her noncitizen spouse. Another 22 cases remain under review.

“These charges reflect the severity of the allegations, the sanctity of our democracy, and the tremendous consequences of voting illegally – whether that’s done to try and ‘test’ security measures or to make an unlawful vote count,” Nessel said.

The AG’s office has charged five non-citizens alleged to have voted in Michigan’s 2024 general election, and one U.S. citizen, Kimberley DiDonato, 60, of Rose Township, who allegedly registered her non-citizen husband to vote.

Nessel said DiDonato and Robert Piva, 67, of Roseville, both claimed they were trying to test the voter registration system for vulnerabilities or fraud.

DiDonato, an American citizen married to a lawful permanent resident who is ineligible to vote, is alleged to have posed as her husband and falsely claimed he was an American citizen when she registered him to vote online in April 2024.

The AG also alleged that DiDonato, who is charged with election forgery and using a computer to commit the crime, canceled the registration, claiming she was testing the registration system for vulnerabilities to unqualified voter registrants. DiDonato’s next court date is Aug. 20.

Piva, a lawful permanent resident but not an American citizen, is charged with election law perjury and unqualified elector attempting to vote, both of which are felonies. He returns to court Aug. 26.

In addition to DiDonato and Piva, the defendants are Michael Akioya, 39, of Oak Park and Harumi Michael, 60, of Wolverine Lake, who were charged in March; Basanth Sadasivian, 29, of the United Kingdom, who was charged in April; and Alondra Harker, 26, of Three Rivers, who was charged in June.

In a statement, Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville) said Nessel’s announcement followed lawmakers’ July 30 letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) urging him to lead the passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when voting.

“How many non-citizens will have to vote in our elections before Democrats recognize it as the crisis it is? I truly believe Michigan is the epicenter of the problem,” Smit said, noting that the charges announced are just the tip of the iceberg.

Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, who said in January that non-citizens were on the voter rolls, said he feels “vindicated” by Nessel’s announcement.

“As our top executive for elections, this should not have been overlooked and ignored,” said the Republican Secretary of State nominee, referencing Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who called Forlini’s earlier comments “reckless and irresponsible.”

To view the criminal complaint for each defendant, click here.