A 56-year-old Nigerian woman, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, has been arrested in Massachusetts and charged with allegedly voting illegally in two U.S. elections despite not being an American citizen.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Okafor, a Nigerian national residing in Lynn, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with unlawfully voting as an alien. She was scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston following her arrest.
According to federal prosecutors, Okafor was born in Aba, Nigeria, and obtained lawful permanent resident status in the United States in December 2022. She is not a U.S. citizen and, according to the authorities, has not applied for American citizenship.
Prosecutors allege that in July 2022, Okafor submitted a voter registration card in Massachusetts and signed a certification stating that she was a U.S. citizen. The City of Lynn subsequently registered her to vote, and authorities allege that she voted in the 2022 midterm elections.
The complaint further alleges that Okafor submitted another voter registration form in October 2023 and again indicated that she was a U.S. citizen.
Authorities allege that she subsequently voted in the 2024 presidential primary election.
The federal complaint states that U.S. law reserves voting in federal elections for American citizens and prohibits non-citizens from voting in such elections.
The charge of unlawful voting by an alien carries a potential sentence of up to one year in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000. The Justice Department also said Okafor could face deportation after completion of any sentence imposed by the court.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit. The investigation involves Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The case is part of a broader investigation into alleged voter registration and voting by non-citizens in Massachusetts. The federal complaint states that investigators have examined voter rolls in several Massachusetts communities, including Lynn, to identify potential non-citizen registrations and voting in federal elections.
The allegations contained in the criminal complaint have not been proven in court. Okafor is presumed innocent unless and until she is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.