A British national living in Miami Beach has been arrested for illegally voting six times in U.S. elections while falsely claiming American citizenship, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
James Ross Wightman, 65, faces multiple charges after authorities discovered he had been voting in local and national elections despite being previously deported from the United States in 1989.
Newsweek reached out to the FDLE via email on Sunday for comment.
The Context
This case highlights ongoing concerns about election integrity and the verification systems used to prevent unauthorized voting.
In October of 2024, Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger revealed the results of a citizenship audit of the state’s voter rolls, which showed that out of 8.2 million registered voters, only 20 individuals were found to be non-U.S. citizens.
Raffensperger said all 20 registrations were canceled, and the cases had been forwarded to local prosecutors to determine if criminal charges were appropriate.
However, nine had participated in previous elections, while the remaining 11 showed no record of voting at all.
What To Know
According to the FDLE, Wightman was voluntarily deported from the United States in September 1989 after overstaying his visitor visa and facing drug charges in Hawaii.
He returned to the United States in November 2000 and submitted a voter registration application with a false claim of U.S. citizenship.
In November 2013, authorities say Wightman presented a fraudulent Ohio birth certificate to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to renew his Florida driver’s license. The Ohio Department of Health has confirmed that no such birth certificate exists.
Between 2022 and 2024, Wightman participated in six local and national elections while registered with no party affiliation since 2013.
What People Are Saying
Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade County State Attorney said in a statement:
Florida Noncitizen Voted Illegally Six Times in US Elections
