Another noncitizen has been charged with illegally voting in a Wisconsin election — the second such case announced in the state this month.
Federal prosecutors announced Friday that Julieta Engelstad, a 53-year-old Colombian citizen living in Hudson, was indicted on charges of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship while registering to vote and illegally casting a ballot in the November 2022 election.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, Engelstad registered to vote on July 2, 2022, allegedly claiming she was an American citizen despite being a Colombian national. Prosecutors say she later voted in the November 2022 federal election.
Engelstad is a lawful permanent resident, according to the Department of Justice, but federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
The case could also carry immigration consequences. According to a now-deleted GoFundMe page created in May, Engelstad had a deportation court date scheduled.
The indictment comes just weeks after federal prosecutors charged another noncitizen with illegally voting in Wisconsin’s 2022 election.
As The Heartland Post previously reported, Jesus Javier Jurado Garcia, a 25-year-old Mexican citizen living illegally in Beloit, was charged Sept. 2 with voting as a noncitizen. Prosecutors allege Jurado Garcia knew he was not a U.S. citizen when he cast a ballot in an election that included races for U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
That means federal prosecutors have now brought two separate Wisconsin cases this month alleging noncitizens illegally participated in the same 2022 election.
Engelstad faces up to five years in prison on the charge of falsely claiming citizenship while registering to vote and up to one year for allegedly voting illegally. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.
