Canadian Charged With Voting Illegally in US Elections Multiple Times

Voting booths are set up at a polling place in Newtown, Pa., on April 23, 2024. Matt Rourke/AP Photo

A Canadian citizen living in the United States for decades has been charged with voting illegally in several elections, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sunny Manhertz, 40, is facing one count of unlawful voting by an alien and one count of casting a known fraudulent ballot.

Manhertz became a permanent resident in February 1987 and had been living in the town of Saugus, Mass., north of Boston, the Attorney’s Office said in a May 19 news release. Prosecutors allege Manhertz declared on official registration forms in 2016 that he was a U.S. citizen, and that he then voted illegally in multiple federal elections between 2012 and 2024.

Manhertz also allegedly submitted a form to the Department of Homeland Security in 2019 to replace his permanent resident card, where he declared himself to be a lawful permanent resident of the United States, according to the release.

When he was interviewed by law enforcement officers on May 11, 2026, Manhertz confirmed that he signed the March 1, 2016, Voter Registration Form, and that he voted in several federal elections, the release said.

The charge of procuring or casting false or fraudulent ballots can result in a five-year prison sentence, or up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, according to the Attorney’s Office. The charge of unlawful voting by aliens can lead to a one-year prison sentence, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000.

Online court records show Manhertz is scheduled to appear in court in June.

On August 28, 2025, a federal grand jury also indicted a Canadian citizen accused of illegally registering to vote and voting in federal elections in 2022 and 2024. The 69-year old man had been residing in the U.S. since the 1960s, but never obtained citizenship.

“Every single time a noncitizen casts an illegal vote in North Carolina, it steals and nullifies the vote of an actual citizen,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said in a statement.