Woman who is noncitizen admits registering and voting illegally in 2024 election

South Florida admin September 23, 2026 0 Comments

Woman who is noncitizen admits registering and voting illegally in 2024 election

A 23-year-old Haitian woman has pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on two voter-registration applications and then casting a ballot in the 2024 general election, according to court records.

Valery Zidor admitted to two counts of making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to vote and one count of voting as a noncitizen. The indictment says she falsely claimed citizenship twice in Miami-Dade County in the months before the election and then voted on Oct. 30, 2024.

The case provides unusually specific dates for the alleged conduct. Prosecutors said Zidor first falsely identified herself as a U.S. citizen while registering to vote with the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections on Aug. 26, 2024. She made the same false claim on another voter-registration form on Sept. 12, 2024, according to the indictment.

About seven weeks later, on Oct. 30, Zidor knowingly voted despite knowing she was not a U.S. citizen, prosecutors said. The ballot was cast in an election that included races for president, U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, the indictment says.

The court records reviewed do not say whom Zidor voted for or if her ballot was counted.

“Valery Zidor falsely claimed to be an American citizen, not once, but on two voter registration forms, and then illegally cast a ballot in the 2024 General Election,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in announcing the guilty plea. “Election laws have meaning only if they are enforced.”

“Working with HSI and our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate and prosecute deliberate violations of federal election law,” he said.

A federal grand jury indicted Zidor on March 31 on three counts. The indictment was entered on the Southern District of Florida docket the following day.

The first two counts were brought under a federal law that makes it a crime to knowingly make a false statement or claim of U.S. citizenship for the purpose of registering to vote or voting in a federal, state or local election.

The third charge was brought under a separate federal statute prohibiting noncitizens from voting.

Zidor agreed to plead guilty to all three counts as part of the plea agreement.

At a July 27 change-of-plea hearing, Zidor appeared with a court-appointed interpreter and was placed under oath. A magistrate judge found her competent to enter an informed and voluntary plea.

During the hearing, prosecutors summarized the evidence that they would have presented at trial. Zidor agreed with the government’s factual account and told the court that she had committed the acts described in a written factual proffer, according to the magistrate judge’s report.

She then pleaded guilty to all three counts. The magistrate judge recommended that U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles accept the pleas and adjudicate her guilty.

The two false-citizenship counts each carry a maximum prison sentence of five years, while the noncitizen-voting count carries a maximum of one year. The first two counts also carry potential fines of up to $250,000 each, while the third carries a maximum $100,000 fine.

Zidor’s actual sentence will be determined by Gayles after considering the advisory federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Her plea agreement makes clear that any sentencing estimate is only a prediction and that the judge is not bound by recommendations from prosecutors or the probation office.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors agreed to recommend a two-level reduction in Zidor’s sentencing guideline calculation for acceptance of responsibility, provided she fully discloses the circumstances of the offenses to probation, has not misrepresented facts to the government and commits no further misconduct before sentencing.

The plea also could have consequences for her ability to remain in the United States.