Haitian woman admits falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote in 2024 election in Miami-Dade, DOJ says

A Haitian woman pleaded guilty in federal court to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen to register to vote and then casting a ballot in the 2024 general election, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Valery Zidor, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to vote and one count of voting by an alien, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Federal prosecutors said court records show Zidor falsely stated she was a U.S. citizen on two voter registration forms that were later submitted to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. Despite not being a U.S. citizen, prosecutors said Zidor went on to cast a ballot in the 2024 general election.

"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 a statement.

"Election laws have meaning only if they are enforced," Reding Quiñones added. "Working with HSI and our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate and prosecute deliberate violations of federal election law."

Zidor faces up to five years in federal prison.