Mexican National Charged With Voting Illegally in Vigo County Four Times

A Mexican national living in the United States illegally has been charged with registering to vote and casting ballots in four general elections in Vigo County, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt announced Wednesday.

Francisco Aguilar Romero, who holds DACA status but is in the country illegally, faces felony charges including false or fraudulent voter registration, perjury, and voting by an ineligible person, according to the announcement.

An affidavit of probable cause says Romero “freely admitted” to registering to vote and voting in Indiana elections. Records show he first registered at a department of motor vehicles location in 2018 by completing a Voter Registration form, and later resubmitted or amended his registration in 2023. Both times, the form’s “YES” box was checked next to a statement attesting, under penalty of perjury, that the signer was telling the truth about citizenship status.

Romero has claimed he was not given the information on the form and did not fill it out himself. The affidavit notes that fields on both of his forms were “system generated” rather than handwritten, and that Romero says DMV workers told him he was eligible to vote. DMV workers have denied ever interacting with him.

Romero says that after receiving a voter registration card, he went on to vote by presenting his ID and the card. According to the affidavit, he voted in the 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 general elections, as well as several off-year municipal elections.

The Legal Backdrop

Under current federal law, proof of citizenship is not required to register to vote. Earlier this year, House Republicans passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to cast a ballot. The bill has stalled in the Senate.

The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted federal law as barring states from requiring documentary proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms. Instead, prospective voters can confirm their identity with a Social Security number or driver’s license number — neither of which confirms citizenship, since noncitizens can obtain both.

The Department of Homeland Security said in July that more than 250,000 noncitizens are illegally registered to vote in just four states: California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada.