DeSantis and Florida AG Uthmeier Charge 20 Ineligible Voters — Including 16 Non-Citizens Who Cast Ballots in the 2024 Election

Democrats have spent years telling Americans that non-citizen voting is a “conspiracy theory.” Florida just put more names, charges, and signed admissions on the table.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, joined by Governor Ron DeSantis, announced Thursday that 20 defendants are being arrested and prosecuted for voting fraud in a statewide election-integrity sweep targeting illegal ballots in Florida elections, including the 2024 general election.

Sixteen of those defendants are non-citizens accused of falsely swearing they were U.S. citizens, then voting. Four others are convicted felons accused of registering and voting while still on probation.

The announcement pushes Florida past 100 election-fraud prosecutions since DeSantis signed Senate Bill 524 in 2022 and created the Office of Election Crimes and Security. More than half of those cases have been opened since Uthmeier took office.

Uthmeier posted the news himself:

Today, I joined Governor DeSantis to announce the arrests and prosecutions of 20 ineligible voters, including 16 non-citizens, which brings us to over 100 election fraud prosecutions since Florida stood up the Office of Election Crimes. Florida will protect our elections and not allow anyone to steal the vote of Americans at the ballot box. Those who vote illegally will be held accountable.

Today, I joined Governor DeSantis to announce the arrests and prosecutions of 20 ineligible voters, including 16 non-citizens, which brings us to over 100 election fraud prosecutions since Florida stood up the Office of Election Crimes.

Florida will protect our elections and… pic.twitter.com/BETiXNOv9U

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) September 24, 2026

Read the Attorney General’s official press release here.

“Florida will not allow anyone to steal the vote of Americans at the ballot box,” Uthmeier said. “These defendants swore they were qualified electors, cast ballots in our elections, and later confirmed they were never eligible to vote.”

DeSantis was just as blunt: “We have prioritized election integrity in Florida, and we have zero tolerance for voter fraud.” He used the same event to roll out a new Association of State and Local Election Officials, with Secretary of State Cord Byrd tasked with exporting Florida’s playbook to other states.

According to FOX 13 Orlando, investigators used federal immigration databases, voter-registration applications, poll-book signatures, and vote-by-mail certificates to lock down the cases. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services helped confirm the defendants were not citizens.

Statewide Prosecutor Brad McVay put it in language Democrats will hate: “Florida’s elections laws are not mere suggestions.”

Each charged offense is a third-degree felony. Most of the defendants face up to 10 years in state prison if convicted as charged. One faces up to 20. Another faces up to 15.

This is not a paperwork mix-up. Several of the accused later signed forms admitting they were never U.S. citizens, after they had already voted.

Among those named in the Attorney General’s charging package:

• Astrid Shamatu Navarrete Quintana, 24, Fort Myers — Mexican national and lawful permanent resident since 2023. Registered in August 2024, swore she was a citizen, voted in person on Election Day 2024, then signed a form admitting she is not a U.S. citizen.
• Selvin Uton Whilby, 74, Tampa — Jamaican national and green-card holder since 1989. Registered in 2008, voted by mail in the 2024 primary and general elections, with a vote-by-mail trail dating to 2008.
• Cyntia Vanessa Canales, 62, Ocala — Chilean national. Registered in 2012 and again in 2022, each time claiming citizenship and listing her place of birth as Florida. Voted early in person in October 2024.
• Craig William Smith, 69, Ocala — Bahamian national, permanent resident since 1978. Registered in 2002. Voted in both 2024 elections as part of a history going back to 2006.
• Kadian Gabrielle Amai Johnson, 29, Lehigh Acres — Jamaican national. Registered Sept. 30, 2024, voted in person Nov. 5, 2024, then admitted in writing she is not a citizen.
• James Mark Hollingsworth, 62, Lake Suzy — Canadian national and permanent resident since 1967. Registered through the DMV in 2021, voted by mail in both 2024 elections. After getting a non-citizen notice, he emailed the supervisor of elections acknowledging he is a permanent resident and that he had been voting in Florida. He faces four felony counts.
• Giorgio Dominique Mucelli, 66, Melbourne — Canadian citizen and lawful permanent resident charged with voting as a non-citizen and false affirmation after voting in seven general elections from 2004 through 2024, including 2024.
• Donta Ta White, 44, Tampa — convicted felon still serving a 10-year probation term that does not end until 2032. After signing a Department of Corrections form warning that registering or voting before completing his sentence is illegal, he filed two October 2024 registration applications claiming his rights had been restored and voted early in person.

The remaining named defendants include nationals of the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Mexico, and Canada in Polk, Okeechobee, Columbia, and Collier counties. Cases span Brevard, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Lee, Marion, Okeechobee, and Polk.