Haitian national Gordon Louis is among three noncitizens sentenced in South Florida after pleading guilty to illegally voting in U.S. federal elections despite knowing they were ineligible to vote.
By Le Floridien Staff
MIAMI, Fla. — A Haitian national is among three non-U.S. citizens who have been sentenced in separate federal cases after admitting they illegally voted in U.S. federal elections despite knowing they were not eligible to cast ballots, federal prosecutors announced.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Gordon Louis, a Haitian national and convicted felon, knowingly voted in the 2020 U.S. general election, casting ballots for President, Vice President, and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, even though he knew he was not a U.S. citizen.
Louis pleaded guilty to voting by an alien, a federal offense, and was sentenced on April 15. Federal prosecutors did not disclose additional details regarding the sentence in the announcement.
Federal Authorities Emphasize That Only U.S. Citizens May Vote
Federal law requires that only U.S. citizens may register and vote in federal elections. Prosecutors said Louis knowingly violated that requirement, making his case one of three separate prosecutions involving noncitizens who admitted illegally participating in federal elections.
The other defendants include Moises Lima Junior, a Brazilian national who became a lawful permanent resident in January 2024. According to prosecutors, he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen when registering to vote before knowingly casting a ballot in the 2024 federal election. He later pleaded guilty to making a false claim of citizenship to vote and voting by an alien.
The third defendant, Roberto Figueredo, a Cuban national whose lawful permanent resident status had been revoked and who had already been ordered removed from the United States, admitted falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on a Florida voter registration application before voting in the 2020 federal election. He also pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this year.
Announcing the cases, U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said protecting the integrity of federal elections remains a top priority.
“Voting in federal elections is one of the most important rights and responsibilities of American citizenship,” Reding Quiñones said. “Federal law is clear: only United States citizens may vote in federal elections. These defendants admitted that they knowingly violated that law.”
The investigations were conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami and HSI Fort Lauderdale, with assistance from the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Killoran and Timothy Farina.
Federal officials said the prosecutions reflect the government’s ongoing efforts to enforce election laws and hold accountable individuals who knowingly register or vote in federal elections despite being legally ineligible to do so.
