Another day, another foreign national charged with voting in U.S. elections — and yet another example of why failure to pass the SAVE America Act is not an option.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced authorities had arrested Sunny Manhertz, 40, of Saugus, Massachusetts. The noncitizen has been charged with unlawful voting by an alien and one count of “the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Manhertz, a Canadian citizen and legal permanent resident of the United States, is accused of voting in multiple federal elections, including the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 general elections. Federal authorities allege that Manhertz in 2016 lied on his Massachusetts voter registration form, checking “Yes” to the form’s question: “Are you a Citizen of the United States of America?” He did so, the complaint alleges, under penalty of perjury.
If convicted on both charges, the noncitizen could face up to five years in prison, a maximum of four years supervised release and a combined fine up $350,000, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
‘Why Citizenship Verification Matters’
The complaint states that Manhertz has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States since 1987 but has never applied for U.S. citizenship. In June 2024, Manhertz filled out and returned a form for registered voters, according to the complaint. He checked the box that stated, “I am still living in the Town of Saugus at the same address,” the Department of Homeland Security Investigations alleges.
Court documents show the foreign national also voted in the March 2024 presidential primary as well as several state elections. Manhertz has a history of voting for Democrats in party primary elections, according to the complaint.
The complaint also asserts that “Manhertz knew he is not a United States citizen,” noting that on Feb. 13, 2019, the noncitizen submitted to DHS application to replace a permanent resident card. On the form, Manhertz provided his Alien Registration Number and personal identifying information, according to the charging documents. He checked the box for Lawful Permanent Resident. He did so again in late June 2024, a little over four months before the presidential election, the complaint alleges.
In March, Manhertz attended a political event, where he signed state primary nomination papers for two candidates, court documents state. He did so despite instructions on the nomination forms stating, “We are qualified voters of the commonwealth and of the district for which the nomination is made…” The primary is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 1.
The affidavit alleges that Manhertz confirmed that he “has been voting since 2008.”
In the document, the DHS special agent who investigated the election fraud allegations notes that he had previously served as a the election coordinator for Saugus. He’s quite familiar with the elections process, particularly in the town where the violations allegedly occurred.
“We commend the U.S. District Attorney in Massachusetts for taking action in this case. It shows that violations of election law will not be ignored,” J. Christian Adams, president and general counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation said in a statement to The Federalist. “Cases like this show why citizenship verification matters.”
So, once again, the thing that Democrats insist never happens has happened. It’s funny how much election fraud you can find when you look for it.
“As part of a continuing effort to investigate criminal violations of federal law, Homeland Security Investigations has examined voter rolls for certain Massachusetts communities to identify non-citizen registration to vote and non-citizen voting in federal elections. Among those communities is the Town of Saugus,” the affidavit states.
‘Reserved for US Citizens’
The Massachusetts case follows the indictments earlier this month of four noncitizens in New Jersey alleged to have voted in federal elections. In January, two noncitizens in the Garden State were indicted on charges of illegally voting and making false statements on their application for U.S. citizenship. Also in January, a federal grand jury in Birmingham, Ala., charged a Canadian man on several counts of voting in state and federal elections as a noncitizen. The same man, Franc Neil Maloney, at the time was reportedly free on bond in a separate case in which he as charged with 187 counts of possessing child pornography and another four of disseminating it.
Elsewhere in Massachusetts, Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 59, a foreign national from Colombia, was convicted of multiple crimes, including one count of fraudulent voting and stealing north of $400,000 in federal benefits.
Meanwhile, Boston city officials keep pushing measures that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia introduced a home-rule petition in late March, according to Axios Boston. Massachusetts lawmakers rolled out dozens of voting bills this year, including a proposal that would allow municipalities to extend voting to noncitizens without seeking approval from the legislature.
“Even if it gets Mayor Michelle Wu’s signature, the proposal will likely flounder in the Legislature, just as it has for decades,” the publication reported. Deep blue Massachusetts has long rejected proposals to expand voting in local and state elections to noncitizens. Even some Bay State liberals get that noncitizens shouldn’t be voting in U.S. elections.
“I have a strong record in support of immigrants. But I believe the right to vote is reserved for US citizens & those who have gone through the process,” Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, who served in the U.S. Department of Labor during the Clinton administration, wrote in a post following the latest batch of noncitizen voting bills. “At this time, it’s critical that we maintain faith in our electoral system/democracy & avoid counterproductive changes.”
If only the U.S. Senate would get that message.
‘Must Be Approved’
President Donald Trump has upped the ante on his No. 1 election reform package, the SAVE America Act. The legislation would demand documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, and photo ID to vote in U.S. elections.
On Tuesday, Trump gave his endorsement in Texas’ Republican primary runoff election to challenger Ken Paxton, the Lone Star State’s hard-driving attorney general. He passed over Sen. John Cornyn in no small part because of the four-term incumbent’s milquetoast efforts to advance the SAVE America Act. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. seems to have washed his hands of the battle against intransigent Democrat senators who won’t vote for cloture to end their filibuster. Election integrity costs Democrats elections. Thune and the leadership crew have done nothing to challenge the filibuster, up to nuking it.
Over the weekend, Trump urged Republicans to pass the bill via key spending packages, like reauthorization of FISA’s Section 702 spying provision.
“Voter I.D., and Proof of Citizenship, must be approved, NOW. Crooked Mail-In Voting must be stopped!!! PUT IT ALL IN THE HOUSING AND FISA BILLS. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” the president wrote on social media.
The recent reports of voter fraud in Massachusetts and elsewhere should drive home how critical passage of the SAVE AMERICA Act is.
“The current NVRA [National Voter Registration Act] honor system is broken,” Adams of the Public Interest Legal Foundation said. “States need to use the SAVE database to check their voter rolls for noncitizens. Is the Massachusetts Secretary of State doing so? The public should know.”
