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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Australian woman accused of illegally voting in US faces jury trial

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • An Australian woman, Denise Nataly Migliore, will face a jury trial in Louisiana for allegedly voting illegally in two U.S. federal elections.
  • Prosecutors accuse her of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in 2022 and 2024 to cast fraudulent votes.
  • Migliore, a legal permanent resident, claims she was unaware that permanent residents cannot vote and felt unfairly targeted.

A Sydney woman is set to face a jury trial in the U.S. state of Louisiana after being accused of illegally voting in two federal elections by falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. Denise Nataly Migliore, 51, faces charges including making false statements and fraudulent voting.

I'm just devastated that this is happening to an Australian.

— Denise Nataly MiglioreExpressing her feelings about the legal charges she faces.

Federal prosecutors allege that Migliore knowingly made false claims of U.S. citizenship in October 2022 and October 2024 to cast fraudulent votes in recent presidential elections. At the time of the alleged offenses, she was a legal permanent resident. The indictment further claims she "knowingly and wilfully" defrauded Louisiana residents of a fair election process by casting a ballot she knew was "materially false and fraudulent."

I have been here almost three decades, I had a pending application for citizenship, and I just considered myself a citizen.

— Denise Nataly MiglioreExplaining her perspective on her residency and citizenship status to NOLA.

Migliore is scheduled to appear before a Louisiana jury in September. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison. She expressed devastation over the situation, telling ABC, "I'm just devastated that this is happening to an Australian."

I just didn't realise that it was such a big deal.

— Denise Nataly MiglioreStating her lack of awareness regarding the illegality of voting as a non-citizen.

The case emerges amid a heightened U.S. focus on non-citizen voting, a priority for the Trump administration, despite evidence suggesting such instances are rare. Migliore, who had been living in Franklinton, Louisiana, stated she believed legal permanent residents could vote and did not realize it was illegal. She told Louisiana news outlet NOLA that she had been encouraged to register and that no one questioned her citizenship when she registered or voted. "I just didn't realise that it was such a big deal," she said, adding that election workers were polite and did not ask about her citizenship status during the 2024 election. Migliore feels she is being "unfairly targeted" and used as a "guinea pig" to highlight flaws in the electoral system.

I feel like I'm being used as a guinea pig to show how flawed the electoral system is, and I'm being unfairly targeted.

— Denise Nataly MiglioreExpressing her feeling of being unfairly targeted in the legal proceedings.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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