The Michigan attorney general’s office on Thursday announced charges against five non-citizens who allegedly voted in Michigan’s 2024 November general election.
In addition, one U.S. citizen allegedly registered their non-citizen spouse to vote.
“Throughout 2025, the Michigan Department of State referred to the Department of Attorney General 16 cases of suspected non-citizen voting in the 2024 November general election. In 2026, an additional 22 cases have been referred to the Michigan Department of Attorney General concerning suspected non-citizen voting or adjacent conduct in elections spanning from 2009 to 2025,” a press release read.
“Six cases have resulted in criminal charges, ten have been closed without charges, and 22 remain under review,” it continued.
Five non-citizens charged after voting in Michigan’s 2024 election https://t.co/KtXOcv0Y6A
— The Detroit News (@detroitnews) August 13, 2026
CBS News shared further:
Michael Akioya, 39, of Oak Park, charged with one count each of false statement on an absent voter ballot application and false statement on an absentee vote ballot return envelope between March 2025 and July 2025. Both are misdemeanor charges pending in the 45-B District Court in Oakland County. The attorney general’s office said Akioya is a lawful permanent resident, but not a U.S. citizen.
Kimberley DiDonato, 60, of Rose Township, was charged with one count each of election forgery and using a computer to commit a crime during April 2024. Both are felony charges pending in the 52-2 District Court in Oakland County. The attorney general’s office said she is an American citizen married to a lawful permanent resident. Prosecutors allege that DiDonato falsely claimed her husband was a U.S. citizen and registered him online as a voter, claiming that she intended to test the registration system for vulnerabilities related to unqualified voter registrants.
Alondra Harker, 26, of Three Rivers, was charged with election law – fraudulent registration when not a resident and qualified. This is a misdemeanor charge involving activity during November 2024, pending in the 3B District court in St. Joseph County. The attorney general’s office said Harker is a limited-term resident and not a U.S. citizen.
Harumi Michael, 60, of Wolverine Lake, was charged with two counts of election law forgery, one count of unqualified elector attempting to vote and one count of voter registration – false statement. The voter registration charge is a misdemeanor; the other three are felonies involving activity during October 2024 and are pending in the 52-1 District Court in Oakland County. The attorney general’s office said Michael is a lawful permanent resident but not a U.S. citizen.
Robert Piva, 67, of Roseville, was charged with one count each of election law perjury, unqualified elector attempting to vote and election law – fraudulent registration. The fraudulent registration charge is a misdemeanor; the other two are felonies, involving activity during September 2024 and October 2025, pending in the 39th District Court in Macomb County. The attorney general’s office said Piva registered to vote online and then participated in early in-person voting. Piva has claimed his vote was an experiment concerning voter fraud, the attorney general’s office said.
Basanth Sadasivian, 29, living in the United Kingdom, was charged with an election law offense: attempting to vote as an unqualified elector. This is a felony charge regarding activity that happened as recently as November 2024 in Bloomfield Hills, pending in the 48th District Court in Oakland County. The attorney general’s office alleges that Sadasivian registered to vote electronically via the Federal Post Card Application system, and then voted the same way in November 2024.
“In my office, we’ve always taken election crimes seriously, and prosecute attacks on our voting systems to the fullest extent of the law,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“We’re upholding election integrity by investigating all claims of non-citizen 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. These charges reflect the severity of the allegations, the sanctity of our democracy, and the tremendous consequences of voting illegally— whether that’s done to try and ‘test’ security measures or to make an unlawful vote count,” she continued.
“In 2024, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson testifying under oath to Congress: ‘There’s no evidence that non-citizens are voting.’ Today, Attorney General Dana Nessel charged five non-citizens for voting in Michigan elections,” Michigan Senate Republicans wrote.
Watch below:
In 2024, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson testifying under oath to Congress: “There’s no evidence that non-citizens are voting.”
Today, Attorney General Dana Nessel charged five non-citizens for voting in Michigan elections. https://t.co/b4eKbZEOAX pic.twitter.com/CYPoI53pmt
— MI Senate Republicans (@MISenate) August 13, 2026
FOX 2 Detroit noted:
Upon investigation by the Michigan Department of Attorney General, it was determined that two voters subject to cases referred by the Michigan Department of State were American citizens.
In several cases, the Department of Attorney General investigation was unable to determine the voters’ means of registration.
Voter registrations associated with every identified non-citizen voter, charged or otherwise, have been canceled.