FDLE
A British national who was deported from the United States more than three decades ago has been arrested for illegally voting in six Florida elections, authorities announced Thursday.
James Ross Wightman, 65, was taken into custody in Miami Beach on Friday and charged with six counts of illegal voting. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said Wightman, from the United Kingdom, falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on a voter registration application in 2000 and used fraudulent documentation to maintain his Florida driver’s license.
“In Florida, we uphold the rule of law in our elections,” FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass emphasized. “Thanks to the leadership of Governor DeSantis, anyone who seeks to illegally cast their ballot will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to investigators, Wightman was originally deported in 1989 after overstaying his visa and facing a drug-related arrest in Hawaii. Despite his prior removal, he re-entered the U.S. and successfully voted in local and national elections in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Authorities revealed that Wightman used a falsified Ohio birth certificate when renewing his Florida driver’s license in 2013. The Ohio Department of Health confirmed that no such record exists.
“Florida leads the nation in election security, and we continue to aggressively enforce our laws to stop non-citizens from voting,” Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said, praising the enforcement efforts.
Wightman was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, and his case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit.
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