A Mauritanian illegal immigrant marked for deportation since 2002 has continued to live in the US and is a registered Democrat who voted in every election since 2008, authorities claim.<\/p>\n
Mahady Sacko, 50, who goes by the nickname \u201cSacko Scorpion,\u201d was busted last week in Philadelphia for allegedly falsely claiming citizenship<\/a> to cast a 2024 ballot.<\/p>\n He was picked up in a joint operation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI who charge he \u201cfalsely represented that he was a US citizen in order to vote and register to vote\u201d in the last preidential election, according to a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sacko denied the charges when called by The Post, claiming: \u201cEverything is a lie! They are lying about me!\u201d before hanging up. He has yet to enter a plea in his case. <\/p>\n Mahady Sacko of Mauritania allegedly voted as a registered Democrat in every election since 2008\u2014until feds busted him last week in Philadelphia for falsely claiming citizenship to cast a 2024 ballot. DOJ<\/p>\n DOJ<\/p>\n Images of Sacko\u2019s paper voter registration where he registered with the Democrat Party, according to law enforcement and public records. DOJ<\/p>\n As the issue of election security ramps up in Congress with the SAVE act, Sacko\u2019s arrest was one of nearly a dozen uncovered by The Post of non-citizens allegedly voting in US elections, sometimes for decades, with many remaining listed as active voters on state rolls, even after their convictions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is aliens are voting in American elections,\u201d J. Christian Adams, president of Public Interest Legal Foundation, who has spent decades working on election integrity told The Post, noting no one is quite sure how widespread the problem is.<\/p>\n On March 6, Canadian Denis Bouchard, 70, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false claims he was a US citizen to vote in the 2022 and 2024 US elections in North Carolina and faces ten years in prison. DOJ<\/p>\n There were about 14 million people who are in the country legally but who are not citizens in 2023, according to the Pew Research center<\/a>. While they may have work permits and visas, they can\u2019t vote.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s way worse than the left says, but it\u2019s way better than some others say,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania<\/a>, a crucial swing state, stands out for disastrous alien voter registration, said Adams. The Keystone State has admitted a glitch in its \u201cmotor voter\u201d program, which registers voters at the DMV, inadvertently has allowed approximately 100,000<\/a> non-citizens to register to vote, though some state officials dispute this number.<\/p>\n Another Pennsylvania voter, Indian citizen Kaushalkumar Patel<\/a>, 47, of Allentown will stand trial this month for allegedly voting illegally in the 2020 election in Penn.<\/p>\n Voting records obtained by The Post show a man by the same name and age as Bouchard voted in every election since 2004 and was not registered with a political party. <\/p>\n Patel\u2019s lawyer Philip Steinberg previously said he\u2019s waiting for more information from the goverment laying out their case against Patel, saying in a statement: \u201cMr. Patel has lived a law abiding life in the United States for over 20 years. He works, pays his taxes and is an active participant in his community. He is also the proud father of two young daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n On March 6, Canadian Denis Bouchard<\/a>, 70, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false claims he was a US citizen to vote in 2022 and 2024 elections in North Carolina and faces ten years in prison.<\/p>\n An investigation by The Post revealed a man by the same name and age had voted in every election since 2004 and was not registered with a political party. That man was removed from voter rolls in that state after Bouchard\u2019s conviction.<\/p>\n In one shocking case, Chinese national Haoxiang Gao, 19, who was a student at the University of Michigan, was charged on June 3 last year with illegally voting in the 2024 election, but fled to China<\/a> before he could face justice.<\/p>\n Chinese national Haoxiang Gao, 19, who was as student at the University of Michigan, was charged on June 3 last year with illegally voting in the 2024 election but fled to China before he could face justice.<\/p>\n Voter information obtained The Post showed that Gao was still an active, registered voter in Michigan, a crucial swing state, despite having fled back to his home country of China. He remains wanted by US authorities. <\/p>\n At arraignment Gao surrendered his Chinese passport to the judge but then boarded a flight from Detroit to Shanghai using another passport with a different serial number, according to the FBI. Gao remains wanted in the US, which does not have an extradition treaty with China.<\/p>\n The Post found Gao is still registered as an active voter in Michigan.<\/p>\n An October 2025 sweep in Arkansas<\/a> picked up Cecilia Casellanos, 59, a Cuban national and registered Democrat who had a pending order of removal by immigration enforcement dating back to 1999. Casellanos also had three prior felony convictions in New York for Grand Larceny and Attempted Forgery, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.<\/p>\n She pleaded guilty to perjury and voter fraud on Jan. 13.<\/p>\n Cecilia Casellanos, 59, a Cuban national and registered Democrat in Arkansas pleaded guilty to perjury and voter fraud on Jan. 13. She had a pending order of removal by immigration enforcement dating back to 1999.<\/p>\n Arkansas nabbed Zlata Risley, 50, of Kazakhstan who had registered as a Republican and was a lawful US residents but not a citizen. Law enforcement says she voted illegally in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n In October, Arkansas also nabbed Zlata Risley, 50, of Kazakhstan who had registered as a Republican; and Nigerian citizen Chi Baum, 59, of no party affiliation. Both were lawful US residents, but not citizens, who illegally voted in the 2024 election, officials said.Risley pleaded guilty and recieved probation. Details of Baum\u2019s case were not immediately available. <\/p>\n In Florida, two Ukrainian<\/a> women \u2014 mom Svitlana Demydenko, 53, and daughter Yelyzaveta Demydenko, 22, both registered Democrats \u2014 cast ballots in the 2024 general election after coming to the US in 2021 on nonimmigrant visas, according to the US Attorney\u2019s Office Southern District of Florida. <\/p>\n They were both arrested last April, they have pleaded not guilty and their case is set for trial later in 2026.<\/p>\n Experts say the main problem is aliens being invited to register to vote usually through the mail, at the DMV or via third-party groups. Getty Images<\/p>\n Experts say aliens are often unwillingly swept up in voter registration drives at the DMV or trying to do a favor for a stranger with a clipboard. Getty Images<\/p>\n Adams said the main problem is aliens being invited to register to vote, usually through the mail, at the DMV or via third-party groups.<\/p>\n \u201cAt times, it\u2019s an organic process of aliens getting sucked in unwittingly. Maybe they\u2019d been whipping down Modelos [beers] at a festival and they\u2019re doing some guy a favor who is in their face with a clipboard. Or, they\u2019re at the DMV and get these pop-up windows asking them to register. They think, \u2018I must be allowed.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI wish it were a conspiracy plot because it would be easier to bust. This is systemic failure.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukrainian citizen Svitlana Demydenko, 53, a registered Democrat cast a ballot in the 2024 general election after coming to the US in 2021 on nonimmigrant visas, according to the US Attorney\u2019s Office Southern District of Florida. lana_d_nails\/Instagram<\/p>\n Jamaican national Jacqueline Dianne Wallace, 52, had been in the US illegally for over 15 years and registered as a Republican to vote in Florida, officials allege, casting a ballot in the 2024 presidential primary, <\/p>\n Iraqi Akeel Abdul Jamiel was charged last April with allegedly illegally voting in the 2020 election and faces a year in prison and $100,000 fine if convicted.<\/p>\n The Post found illegal voters span the political spectrum. In Upstate New York, Iraqi national Akeel Abdul Jamiel, 45, had registered with the Conservative Party, had written pro-Trump screeds and in 2019 tried to sue then-New York City mayor Bill de Blasio over the negative impact of illegal immigration on his livelihood, claiming the US was \u201cunder invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamiel was charged last April with illegally voting in the 2020 election. He has yet to enter a plea and could face a year in prison and up to $100,000 fine if convicted.<\/p>\n Jamaican national Jacqueline Dianne Wallace, 52, who had been in the US illegally for over 15 years, registered online from a community college computer network as a Republican to vote in Florida and cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential primary, officials claim. Her case is currently pending. <\/p>\n If convicted, she faces five years in the clink. Attorneys appointed to represent her did not respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n A Pennsylvania man going to trail this month for allegedly voting illegally was found to still be a registered Democrat in the Keystone State, which experts said has a disasterous record of alien voter registrations. <\/p>\n President Trump has escalated pressure on the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, which proponents believe will cut down on alien voting, by threatening he\u2019ll refuse to sign any other bills until it\u2019s passed. Getty Images<\/p>\n The Republican-backed SAVE America Act<\/a> would mandate proof of US citizenship \u2014 such as a passport, birth certificate, or enhanced driver\u2019s license \u2014 to register to vote in federal elections, but it\u2019s currently languishing in the Senate, lacking the 60 votes required to overcome a Democrat filibuster.<\/p>\n Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who introduced the SAVE Act to the House, where it passed, said he agrees with President Trump that passing this bill should be Republicans\u2019 \u201ctop priority.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans want voter ID<\/a> and the guarantee that only citizens are voting in our elections. The House has done its job, now it\u2019s time for the Senate to show up to work,\u201d he told The Post.<\/p>\n Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah co-sponsored the SAVE Act in the Senate and said every alien vote takes away a citizen\u2019s voice. Getty Images<\/p>\n Texas Rep. Chip Roy introduced the SAVE Act to the House where it passed, and told The Post he agrees with President Trump that passing this bill should be Republicans\u2019 \u201ctop priority.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cSenators should stand up and defend their positions. If Democrats want to block protections ensuring only citizens vote, they should have to explain that to the American people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Democrats have called non-citizen voting a \u201cmyth\u201d and blasted the SAVE Act as \u201cextremist white supremacist agenda\u201d and \u201cJim Crow 2.0.\u201d<\/p>\n President Trump has escalated pressure on the Senate by threatening he\u2019ll refuse to sign any other bills until it\u2019s passed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is aliens are voting in American elections,\u201d J. Christian Adams, president of Public Interest Legal Foundation who has spent decades working on election integrity, told The Post Coutesy of J. Christian Adams<\/p>\n Democrats have called non-citizen voting a \u201cmyth\u201d and blasted the SAVE Act as \u201cextremist white supremacist agenda\u201d and \u201cJim Crow 2.0\u201d while some Republicans say just one illegal vote is too many. Getty Images<\/p>\n Utah Senator Mike Lee<\/a>, who co-sponsored the SAVE Act in the Senate, told The Post he wants voters to keep the pressure up to get the bill passed.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery few weeks, we learn that, \u2018the thing that never happens,\u2019 has happened again,\u201d he said referring to illegal voting. \u201cIn tight down-ballot races, even hundreds of illegal votes can swing an election, and every illegal vote cast is an attack on a legitimate vote cast by a real citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n Ilustrating that point, On Friday, after a recount, Boca Raton, Florida\u2019s new mayor won by just five votes<\/a>, flipping the mayorship to Democrat in a Republican stronghold.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may surprise many Americans to learn that the Supreme Court \u2014 wrongly, in my view \u2014 has interpreted the law to\u00a0forbid states from checking citizenship for voter registration. The SAVE America Act would reverse this situation,\u201d Lee added, speaking about a 2013 decision that required only a sworn affirmation of citizenship for voter registration.<\/p>\n Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced the Senate will debate the SAVE Act next week but stated they lack the votes to pass it.<\/p>\n