Michigan prosecutors have brought six separate election-law cases, including five involving people identified as noncitizens. The review also closed 10 matters without charges, while 22 remain unresolved.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office said it filed criminal charges in six of 38 matters involving suspected noncitizen voting or related election-law conduct. Ten matters were closed without charges, and 22 remained under review when the office announced the cases.
The six defendants have not been found guilty. The cases, which include allegations tied to the November 2024 general election as well as conduct in other elections and years, are pending in district courts across Michigan, including Oakland, St. Joseph and Macomb counties.
Michigan’s review produced charges, closures and unresolved matters
According to the attorney general’s office, the Michigan Department of State referred about 16 suspected noncitizen-voting cases connected to the 2024 general election during 2025. In 2026, the office received 22 additional referrals involving suspected noncitizen voting or adjacent conduct in elections spanning 2009 through 2025.
Of the 38 matters, six resulted in criminal charges, 10 were closed without charges and 22 remained under review, the office said. It also said voter registrations involved in the charged cases were canceled.
The figures do not establish how widespread noncitizen voting is statewide. They show that referrals can lead to different results: prosecution where authorities believe charges are warranted, closure without charges, or further investigation.
Some referrals did not establish a provable crime
The attorney general’s office said two referrals involved people who turned out to be U.S. citizens. One concerned a complicated international adoption. The other involved a member of a federally recognized American Indian community who was born in Canada and whose documents used dual-citizenship language.
Six additional inquiries were closed because prosecutors said they could not prove the people knew or believed they were ineligible to vote. The review therefore does not support an assumption that every referral represented a provable crime.
In criminal election cases, the legal questions may extend beyond whether a registration or vote occurred. Prosecutors generally need evidence supporting not only ineligibility but legally culpable intent or knowledge.
The six cases involve different allegations
The charges do not describe one coordinated operation. Prosecutors’ allegations range from false statements on absentee-ballot paperwork to registration allegations, attempted voting, election forgery and use of a computer to commit a crime.
- Michael Akioya, a lawful permanent resident, was charged with misdemeanor false-statement counts involving an absent-voter ballot application and ballot-return envelope in 2025.
- Kimberley DiDonato, a U.S. citizen, was charged with election forgery and using a computer to commit a crime. Prosecutors allege she registered her lawful-permanent-resident husband online while falsely representing that he was a citizen; they said she described it as a test of the system.
- Alondra Harker, identified by the state as a noncitizen limited-term resident, was charged with fraudulent voter registration.
- Harumi Michael, identified as a lawful permanent resident, faces charges including election-law forgery, attempting to vote as an unqualified elector and making a false voter-registration statement.
- Robert Piva was charged with perjury, attempting to vote as an unqualified elector and fraudulent registration. Prosecutors said he characterized his actions as an experiment related to voter fraud.
- Basanth Sadasivian, whom prosecutors said was living in the United Kingdom, was charged with attempting to vote as an unqualified elector through a federal absentee-voting application process.
DiDonato’s case differs from the five cases involving people prosecutors identify as noncitizens. She is accused of conduct involving her husband, who is a lawful permanent resident. The distinction is one reason the six cases should not be treated as identical allegations.
Citizenship rules and the cases’ potential consequences
Only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections. States generally require people registering to vote to affirm, under penalty of law, that they are citizens and otherwise eligible.
False citizenship claims on voting paperwork can bring criminal penalties. For a noncitizen, unlawful voting or a false citizenship claim can also carry potentially serious immigration consequences.
Those consequences make the particular facts, records and intent alleged in each case significant. Prosecutors must prove the charges in court, and defense lawyers may challenge the evidence, a defendant’s knowledge of their eligibility, or the state’s application of election law.
Johnson’s criticism puts the cases into a wider political dispute
Speaker Mike Johnson criticized Democrats after the Michigan charges were announced. His response reflects a longstanding Republican argument that Democratic policies intended to expand registration and voting access can make elections more vulnerable to ineligible voting.
Nessel, a Democrat, has taken a different position, saying her office takes election crimes seriously and will prosecute unlawful voting. Under that view, the referrals, investigations, canceled registrations and charges show enforcement mechanisms operating when suspected violations are identified.
Neither political interpretation determines the outcome of the individual cases. The confirmed point is narrower: Michigan has filed six criminal cases, five involving people prosecutors identify as noncitizens, while 22 related matters remain under review. Whether any defendant is legally responsible remains for the courts to decide.
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