Canadians living in the United States charged with voting in U.S. federal elections

Two Canadian citizens living in New York have been charged with voter fraud after voting in United States federal elections, authorities and court documents allege.

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Paula Stitt, 57, has been living in Albany, N.Y., for 31 years as a lawful permanent resident but never became a U.S. citizen, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

She is accused of voting in at least two federal elections in 2024: a primary election in June for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. general election in November that elected Donald Trump as U.S. president.

A special agent with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations swore in a criminal complaint that officials compared past New York voting records to immigration records. The agent said records showed she voted in federal elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.

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Stitt was stopped in August at the Peace Bridge border crossing between Fort Erie, Ont., and Buffalo, N.Y., when returning from a family reunion in Canada. She was interviewed at the border “regarding her voting history” in the United States, according to the agent’s statement.

The agent’s statement, filed in court, said Stitt told him she remembers registering to vote and showed him her voter registration card. Stitt said she had asked an unnamed immigration official if she was able to vote and was told “not until you get your permanent residency card.” She allegedly said that since being granted permanent residency she had voted in local and state elections and every presidential election for 30 years, including the most recent.

She was charged Oct. 9 with two counts of voting by an alien.

Jacques Patry, 64, another Canadian, has lived in Tupper Lake, N.Y., for the past five years, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. The scenic town in the Adirondacks is about 200 kilometres south of Montreal.

Records from the Franklin County Board of Elections show he voted in the 2022 U.S. federal midterm elections that elected members to the Senate and the House, among other elections, while immigration records show he has never been a U.S. citizen, according to a complaint by a different Homeland Security Investigations special agent.

Patry was interviewed on Oct. 1, according to court documents. The circumstances of his interview were not included in court records. It is not known if it also took place at a border crossing.

He allegedly told the agent he knows he is not a U.S. citizen, that he registered to vote when he was in high school, and has voted in U.S. elections.

He is charged with one count of voting by an alien.

The criminal complaints against both Canadians — along with similar charges against two British citizens and a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who also were permanent residents — were filed last week under seal, meaning they were not public until unsealed by a judge on Wednesday when they appeared in court.

Patry had a lawyer. Stitt requested the appointment of a public defender after swearing she was financially unable to retain a lawyer. They were both released on conditions they promise to appear for future court dates, not to breach any law, and to tell the court before changing their address.

Neither lawyer responded to the National Post prior to deadline.

It is a federal crime in the United States for non-U.S. citizens to vote in a federal election. The crime carries a maximum punishment of $100,000 fine and one year’s imprisonment.

John A. Sarcone III, the first assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of New York, said in a written statement that the five people are accused of voter fraud.

“The law is clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections that have candidates running for federal office. When non-citizens vote, the public loses confidence in the integrity of the election process and its outcome,” he said. “Our office, working with our federal law enforcement partners, will work tirelessly to prosecute those who should not have voted, but did.”

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