Speaker Johnson slams Dems after noncitizens were charged with illegally voting in battleground state
House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed Democrats Thursday over election security after noncitizens were charged with illegally voting in Michigan, warning that similar cases across the country pose a growing threat to the integrity of American elections.
"From New Jersey to Michigan, the evidence continues to mount: Illegal aliens are registering and VOTING in American elections," Johnson said in a post shared on X.
"Democrats know this — which is why they want OPEN BORDERS and OPPOSE voter ID" he added before stating that it is a "clear and present danger to the integrity of our elections — and our Republic.
"All Americans DESERVE secure elections, and Republicans are the ones fighting to make it happen."
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Johnson's remarks came as five non-U.S. citizens who allegedly voted in the 2024 presidential election — along with a U.S. citizen accused of registering her noncitizen husband — were charged with election crimes, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
The charges follow a state review of 38 suspected cases of noncitizen voting or related conduct from 2009 to 2025.
Of those cases, six resulted in criminal charges, 10 were closed without charges and 22 remain under active review.
"In my office, we’ve always taken election crimes seriously and prosecute attacks on our voting systems to the fullest extent of the law," Nessel said in a statement.
"We’re upholding election integrity by investigating all claims of noncitizen voters, as rare as they are, and holding bad actors accountable when they refuse to abide by the laws that keep our elections safe and secure."
More than 5.7 million ballots were cast in Michigan during the November 2024 general election.
State officials have said illegal voting by noncitizens remains rare.
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The charges come as President Donald Trump’s administration has made preventing illegal voting a priority.
He signed executive orders in March 2025 and March 2026 to strengthen citizenship verification for federal elections and directing agencies to give states greater access to citizenship and immigration data.
Trump's administration has also backed legislation requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Nessel's announcement included Robert Piva, 67, of Roseville, a permanent resident charged with election law perjury, attempting to vote unqualified and fraudulent registration.
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He allegedly voted early in October 2024. Piva claimed his vote was an "experiment" concerning voter fraud.
Michael Akioya, 39, of Oak Park, also a permanent resident, was charged with allegedly making false statements on an absentee voter application and ballot envelope during the 2024 election.
Alondra Harker, 26, of Three Rivers, is a limited-term alien resident charged with misdemeanor fraudulent registration, which is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, for allegedly registering and voting in person in 2024.
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Harumi Michael, 60, who lives in Wolverine Lake, is a permanent resident who faces three felonies — two counts of election forgery and one count of attempting to vote unqualified — plus one misdemeanor for allegedly registering and voting in Commerce Township.
Basanth Sadasivian, 29, is a noncitizen living in the United Kingdom who was charged with felony attempting to vote unqualified, punishable by up to four years in prison, for allegedly registering and voting in 2024 through the Federal Post Card Application system using a Bloomfield Hills address.
And Kimberley DiDonato, 60, of Rose Township, is a U.S. citizen charged with election forgery and computer crime after allegedly posing as her noncitizen husband to register him online.
Authorities said DiDonato claimed she wanted to test system vulnerabilities before asking to cancel the registration.
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Nessel’s office declined to charge four referred people after determining that two were U.S. citizens, one was an American citizen through an international adoption and another was a federally recognized American Indian born in Canada.
Six additional cases were closed without charges because of a lack of evidence of criminal intent or potential registration errors.
Nessel also said delays in federal cooperation affected the timeline of the state’s investigations.
"While the question of whether any given resident is a citizen may feel simple, some cases are nuanced in unexpected ways," Nessel said.
"The federal government has not always provided easy or open access to certain necessary citizenship records, and so our investigators had to spend considerable time and effort coaxing cooperation from the federal agencies."