Cleaning of the voter rolls has been ongoing in several jurisdictions, including throughout blue and red states, in an effort to ensure free and fair elections.

In North Carolina, notoriously a swing state, the Department of Justice has announced that a grand jury returned an indictment charging a Canadian citizen with voting in elections, as The Daily Caller reported.

According to the report, the foreign national illegally registered to vote and voted in federal elections in contests held in 2022 and 2024.

This is particularly concerning, due to North Carolina’s competitive status in both local and federal elections.

The accused

Denis Bouchard, 69, claimed to be a United States citizen to vote in federal elections. The defendant has been in the United States since the 1960s but never received the paperwork required to be a legal citizen.

Despite this lack of credentials, Bouchard went so far as to certify that he was a U.S. citizen on his voter registration application.

Bouchard has been brought up on two counts of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f) and an additional two counts of 52 U.S.C. § 20511(2)(B), which, if he is convicted, could saddle him with five years in prison for each count.

The upcoming 2026 race includes the contest to replace retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who has held the position as a strong Republican for years.

From law enforcement

The Department of Justice was clear in its belief that this is a serious concern and should be treated with the utmost gravity by citizens and law enforcement alike.

“Every single time a noncitizen casts an illegal vote in North Carolina, it steals and nullifies the vote of an actual citizen,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.

“If the records are correct, this Canadian citizen appears to have voted in New Hanover and Pender County elections over the past 20 years. We intend to prove his illegal conduct in court and put an end to it.”

Non-citizens from Mexico, El Salvador, Haiti, and other countries have been convicted of illegally voting right here in North Carolina.

And those were only the ones who were caught.@POTUS is right: We must ensure only Americans vote in American elections. pic.twitter.com/ZRWhsiQxJB

— Rep. Mark Harris (@RepMarkHarrisNC) August 31, 2025

From state officials

Sam Hayes, the Executive Director of the NC State Board of Elections said he is “proud of the efforts of our investigators who worked this case prior to handing it off to our law enforcement partners at the FBI.

“Nothing is more critical to our democracy than confidence in our electoral process, which is why vigorous enforcement of our election laws must be a priority.

“The NC State Board of Elections team continues to stand ready to assist the U.S. Attorney’s Office as they investigate and prosecute voter fraud in North Carolina.”