Noncitizen registered to vote, cast ballot in Minnesota’s 2024 election: Charges

SPRING VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man in Fillmore County is facing felony charges for reportedly voting in the 2024 election despite not being a U.S. citizen. 

Noncitizen voting in 2024 election

The backstory:

Mukeshkumar Somabhai Chaudhari, 39, has been charged via summons on Monday with perjury and a voting violation. 

According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement obtained records from the Fillmore County Courthouse indicating that Chaudhari submitted a ballot in the 2024 election and may not have been eligible to vote due to his citizenship status.

Records reviewed by authorities showed Chaudhari registered to vote on March 12, 2023, and was added to the voter rolls on March 27, 2023. Charges allege he signed a voting ballot and submitted it at a polling place in Spring Valley on Nov. 5, 2024.

Investigators said the signature on the voting ballot appeared to match Chaudhari's signature on his Minnesota driver's license, according to the complaint.

What they're saying:

During an interview, Chaudhari initially denied voting in 2024 but later said he "made a mistake" and confirmed he had voted. He also acknowledged to the investigator he was not a U.S. citizen, charges allege. 

Chaudhari allegedly told investigators he received a voter registration notice from the State of Minnesota and filled it out. Court documents indicate the notice was likely caused by the Minnesota system sending him voting information after he obtained his driver’s license.  

Chaudhari stated he learned he should not have voted when his lawyer informed him during the green card application process, according to the complaint. 

What's next:

He is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on May 18. 

MN Secretary of State's Office responds

What they're saying:

An official with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State says before April 29, 2024, anyone who applied for a state-issued ID and was over 18 would be sent a postcard on how to register to vote. The postcard "contained explicit language about eligibility requirements, including that to register an individual must be a U.S. citizen." 

After April 29, 2024, Automatic Voter Registration took effect, meaning people are only registered if proof of U.S. citizenship is provided, and other eligibility checks are passed. 

"Only U.S. Citizens are eligible to vote in Minnesota.  When an individual completes a voter registration application, they attest that they meet all eligibility requirements, including that they are a U.S. citizen. Before casting a ballot, one must again swear to their eligibility before they are allowed to vote. If a noncitizen attempts to vote in an election, they will be caught and held to account. Penalties for voting while ineligible may include deportation, a permanent bar on future citizenship, a fine of up to $10,000, and up to five years in prison," the Secretary of State's Office said in a statement. 

They went on to say that ineligible voting is "extremely rare.," and said since 2020 there have been 14 convictions on charges of voting while ineligible in Minnesota.