Federal prosecutors have charged 113 citizens in 20 states with illegal voting in the last two months.
Posted by Real Time with Bill Maher, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
Real Time with Bill MaherOct 24, 2026
The figure of 113 people charged across 20 states in the last two months is supported by DOJ official Bill Essayli's statements as reported by several outlets, but the claim's word 'citizens' is contradicted: the charged people are described as noncitizens or lawful permanent residents. Reuters counts 129 people under the statute, a competing figure.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… Is it significant? Let me read you some Yeah, I do. Okay, I think I know where you're going, and I'm- i'm gonna read, I'm going to read, I'm going to read you some numbers, okay, because I think numbers don't lie. Just Department, in the last two months, federal prosecutors have charged, charged, just charged 113 citizens in 20 states with illegal voting. That's out of 227 million registered voters: 113 out of 227 million. They looked into it. The Heritage Foundation, conservative organization, Arizona, they went back 25 years, 36 elections, 42 million votes cast, 36 cases of fraud. …
Real Time with Bill Maher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The charged individuals are described as noncitizens, not citizens: CalMatters reports '113 noncitizens in 20 states,' and the California cases involve lawful permanent residents who are not U.S. citizens.[2][3][4]
Contradicts. Reuters' count differs, reporting that federal prosecutors have charged just 129 people under the federal 'voting by aliens' statute.[1]
Supports. Multiple outlets report that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the department charged 113 people across 20 states with illegal voting or registration offenses in the last seven weeks or two months.[2][3][5][6][7]
Context. The Washington Post analysis reported in other coverage that at least 180 people have been charged with illegal voting or registration as noncitizens since the start of Trump's second term, with roughly 70 percent charged in the last two months.[8][9]
Context. Coverage notes many of the charged cited honest mistakes, confusion, or administrative errors rather than deliberate fraud.[1][8]
Sources
9 sources: 1 fact-checker, 8 not rated
- 1Peter Eislerreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, context
- 2Federal prosecutors: California green card holders voted illegallycalmatters.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen in California sweep ...ap.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Federal prosecutors charge 28 California green card holders with ...newsfromthestates.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5DOJ charges 28 people in California with voting crimesrmb.reuters.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Feds arrest alleged noncitizen voters in California amid ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7DOJ charges 28 with unlawful voting, other election-related offenses in Californiaabcnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8We studied 180 voter-fraud cases. Many charged cite honest mistakesdetroitnews.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 9Trump's team ratchets up 'voter fraud' arrests as president sows ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Justice Department has charged 113 people in 20 states with illegal voting and illegal registration offenses over the last several weeks.True
- The U.S. Justice Department has charged more than 113 alleged non-citizens with voting offenses across the country.True
- The Department of Justice has charged more than a hundred non-citizens across about 20 states with voting and registration crimes in recent weeks.True
- The Justice Department charged 113 individuals in 20 states under Operation Protect the Vote.True
- The Department of Justice has announced approximately 100 prosecutions for non-citizen voting.True