A Jamaican permanent resident living in New Jersey was arrested for illegally casting ballots across two decades and then lying about it to federal immigration officers, authorities revealed on Election Day.
Antonio Mitchell, of Paterson, NJ, was taken into custody on Oct. 28 after investigators determined he had voted in multiple elections stretching from 2000 through 2022, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 22-year span of alleged illegal voting makes his case one of the longer-running schemes federal authorities have publicly disclosed in recent years.
Mitchell first put himself on the voter rolls in 2012, checking a box that falsely claimed he was a United States citizen, a criminal complaint filed in New Jersey federal court alleges. That registration opened the door to repeated ballot casting, prosecutors say, including an in-person vote on Nov. 8, 2022, during the general election for the House of Representatives.
The case took a sharper turn when Mitchell, 47, began pursuing American citizenship. On Jan. 31, he completed naturalization forms and checked “No” when asked whether he had ever registered to vote or participated in any federal, state, or local election, court papers charge. That denial set up a direct collision with the voting records investigators had already assembled.
Mitchell stuck to his story during a face-to-face interview with an ICE officer on Sept. 24, repeating that he had never registered and never voted, according to the complaint. He held that line through a second ICE interview nearly six months later, on March. 25, again “denied having registered to vote, or having voted,” the court papers claim.
The three-count federal indictment charges Mitchell with voting by an alien in a federal election, unlawfully attempting to procure naturalization, and making false statements in relation to naturalization. He posted $25,000 bond following his arrest.
“Voting in American elections is a right reserved for eligible voters,” ICE Assistant Director of Public Affairs Micah Bock said in a statement. “Those who knowingly violate federal election laws should understand that their actions carry serious consequences.”
Bock added a pointed message about the agency’s role in election-related cases. “ICE cannot ignore suspected federal crimes simply because they involve elections. The law applies to everyone, and we intend to enforce it.”
The timing of Mitchell’s arrest announcement carried its own weight: federal authorities unveiled the charges on the same day voters across the country were casting ballots in midterm elections for Congressional seats and governorships. The disclosure came just one week after the Department of Justice touted a broader sweep resulting in charges against more than 400 non-citizens for voter fraud crimes nationwide.
Mitchell’s criminal defense lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The case highlights the tension between local voter registration systems, which often rely on self-attestation of citizenship, and the federal databases ICE can access when an immigrant later applies for naturalization. New Jersey, like most states, does not require documentary proof of citizenship at the point of registration, instead depending on signed affidavits that carry penalties for false statements.
Mitchell’s next court appearance has not been publicly scheduled.