Foreign National Suspected Of Illegally Voting In Battle Ground State For Over Two Decades

Federal prosecutors have charged a foreign national in North Carolina with voting in at least two federal elections and believe he may have participated in local elections for the past twenty years.

Denis Bouchard, a 69-year-old Canadian citizen who has resided in the U.S. since the 1960s, never obtained American citizenship, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Despite this, he is accused of listing himself as a citizen on voter registration applications in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election, casting a ballot in both contests.

The Canadian man’s alleged election meddling may go back much further in time, with prosecutors suspecting that he voted in local county elections since the early 2000s.

“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 public statement. “If the records are correct, this Canadian citizen appears to have voted in New Hanover and Pender County elections over the past 20 years.”

“We intend to prove his illegal conduct in court and put an end to it,” Boyle continued. Federal prosecutors are working with the North Carolina Board of Elections on the ongoing investigation.

A federal grand jury indicted Bouchard on Tuesday, charging him with illegally registering to vote and voting in the 2022 and 2024 elections, according to the DOJ. He faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment for each count, if convicted.

With both Democrats and Republicans currently occupying statewide positions in North Carolina, the state is considered by most election observers as competitive. The 2026 race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis