She checked the citizenship box. Massachusetts let her on the rolls. Then she voted… twice.
Homeland Security Investigations arrested a 56-year-old Nigerian national in Lynn, Massachusetts, and the Justice Department has charged her with unlawfully voting as an alien after she allegedly cast ballots in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election, Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin reported Wednesday, citing DOJ.
Gladys Adaeze Okafor is expected to make her first appearance in federal court in Boston later today.
According to the Justice Department account relayed by Melugin, Okafor is a lawful permanent resident. She holds a green card. She has not applied for U.S. citizenship.
Under federal law, that means she is not allowed to vote in federal elections, period. Prosecutors say that did not stop her.
In July 2022, she registered to vote in Lynn and falsely attested that she was a U.S. citizen. She then voted in that year’s midterms. In 2023, she submitted a second voter registration form and again swore she was a citizen. She then allegedly voted in the 2024 presidential election.
DOJ says she admitted the 2024 vote in a recorded interview with an HSI agent last week.
BREAKING: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has arrested a Nigerian non-citizen in Lynn, MA and DOJ has charged her after they say she illegally voted in several US elections, including the 2024 Presidential election & 2022 midterms, and falsely attested to be a US citizen… pic.twitter.com/cx842HiaxA
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 16, 2026
Federal law already bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The honor system is what failed.
Okafor did not have to produce a passport or a naturalization certificate. She attested. Lynn registered her. She voted. Then she attested again.
That is exactly why Republicans have pushed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility legislation, the SAVE Act / SAVE America Act, to require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections and photo ID to vote. The House passed a version this year. Senate Democrats and RINOs have treated proof of citizenship like a dirty word.
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