Canadian man charged with illegally voting in North Carolina, federal prosecutors say

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WNCN) — A Canadian man was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of illegally voting in North Carolina, prosecutors said.

According to the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 69-year-old Denis Bouchard has lived in the U.S. since the 1960s, but never became an American citizen.

Bouchard is accused of voting in the 2022 congressional election and the 2024 presidential election after falsely claiming to have American citizenship on his registration, according to federal prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors said Bouchard is charged with two counts of falsely claiming to be an American citizen to vote in an election and two counts of preventing a fair election by casting a fraudulent ballot.

“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. “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.”

James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina, said in a statement, “Every American deserves to exercise their right to vote without interference in the democratic process. We appreciate the North Carolina Board of Elections partnership and commitment to working together to ensure fair elections in our state.”

Said North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes in a statement, “I am proud of the efforts of our investigators who worked this case prior to handing it off to our law enforcement partners at the FBI. Nothing is more critical to our democracy than confidence in our electoral process, which is why vigorous enforcement of our election laws must be a priority.

“The NC State Board of Elections team continues to stand ready to assist the U.S. Attorney’s Office as they investigate and prosecute voter fraud in North Carolina,” he continued in his statement.