Global Black Voices: News from around the World
- Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution charged noncitizens with falsely registering and voting; each third-degree felony carries up to ten years in prison.
- U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey charged Patrick Terrance Reid with voting as an alien and false statements carrying prison and large fines.
- USCIS used federal database checks, poll books, voter records and signed Citizenship Acknowledgement Forms; investigations continue and defendants are presumed innocent.
By News Americas Now Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Sept. 29, 2026: Four Caribbean immigrants – three from Jamaica and one from the Bahamas – are among those facing charges in a wave of noncitizen voting cases announced this week by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which said it assisted Florida and New Jersey investigators in building the cases.
In Florida, the state’s Office of Statewide Prosecution charged 16 non-U.S. citizens with registering to vote by falsely claiming citizenship and then casting ballots, working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of State’s Office of Election Crimes, and USCIS. Among them:
- Selvin Uton Whilby, 74, of Tampa, a Jamaican national and lawful permanent resident since March 1989. He registered to vote in 2008, falsely affirming U.S. citizenship, and voted by mail in both the 2024 primary and general elections as part of a mail-voting history dating back to 2008. He later signed a form acknowledging he is not a citizen and faces two counts of Unqualified Noncitizen Electors Willfully Voting.
- Craig William Smith, 69, of Ocala, a Bahamian national and lawful permanent resident since March 1978. He registered in 2002, falsely claiming citizenship, and voted in the 2024 primary and general elections as part of a voting history dating to 2006. He also signed a Citizenship Acknowledgement Form admitting he is not a citizen, and faces two counts of the same charge.
- Kadian Gabrielle Amai Johnson, 29, of Lehigh Acres, a Jamaican national and lawful permanent resident since April 2018. She registered on Sept. 30, 2024, falsely affirming citizenship, and voted in person on Nov. 5, 2024. She is charged with Unqualified Noncitizen Electors Willfully Voting and False Swearing.
Each charge is a third-degree felony under Florida law, carrying up to 10 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.
In New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey – through its Election Integrity Task Force – separately charged Patrick Terrance Reid, 61, of Orange, N.J., a Jamaican national who entered the U.S. on an SA1 immigrant visa. Prosecutors allege Reid voted in person in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections and by mail in 2020 and 2024, despite not being a citizen at the time. He is charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and making false statements on his naturalization application (Form N-400), where he allegedly denied ever having registered or voted. The voting charge carries up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine; the false-statement charge carries up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
USCIS said the investigations relied on federal database checks, voter registration and poll-book records, and Citizenship Acknowledgement Forms signed by several of the defendants admitting their noncitizen status. As with all four cases, the charges are accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The investigations remain active, with USCIS and federal partners signaling additional charges and arrests are expected.
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