Alien Charged with Illegally Voting in Federal Election and Making False Statements While Applying for U.S. Citizenship

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County woman was charged in a criminal complaint with illegally voting in a federal election and making false statements while applying for United States citizenship, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.

According to the criminal complaint, Sanata Coulibaly, 64, of Hudson County was a non-citizen when she registered to vote via a paper application at the Office of the Hudson County Superintendent of Elections.  On her voter registration form she falsely certified and attested that she was a United States citizen.  In order to register, and to vote in federal elections, a person must be a United States citizen.  

According to the criminal complaint, Coulibaly cast ballots in the November 2018 mid-term election, the July 2020 primary election, the November 2020 general election, and the 2024 general election.  Each of those elections included candidates who were vying for election to federal offices.  At the time she cast her ballots, Coulibaly, who entered the United States from Senegal on a B-1 nonimmigration visa, was not a United States citizen and was therefore not authorized to vote in federal elections.

The criminal complaint also alleges that after illegally voting in federal elections in 2018 and 2020, the defendant applied in October 2024 to become a United States citizen by submitting an application for naturalization (an “N-400”).  An N-400 requires the applicant to swear under penalty of perjury that the information provided in the application is complete, true, and correct.  In her N-400 application, the defendant falsely claimed that she had never registered to vote or voted in any federal elections.

Coulibaly was charged with voting by an alien in a federal election, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 611, and making false statements while applying for United States citizenship, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1425(a).  She had her initial appearance on September 17, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court.  If convicted of making false statements while applying for United States citizenship, Coulibaly faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.  If convicted of voting by an illegal alien, Coulibaly faces a maximum sentence of 1 year’s imprisonment.   

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy; and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with the investigation.

The case was brought under the United States Attorney’s Office’s Election Integrity Task Force, a coalition of federal law enforcement partners focused on preserving and protecting the integrity of elections conducted in the District of New Jersey.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. O’Leary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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