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New York, Sep 10 (PTI): An Indian national has been charged for fraudulently claiming to be an American citizen in order to vote in the 2024 US general election.

Mukeshkumar Somabhai Chaudhari has been indicted for knowingly making a false claim of United States citizenship to vote in the November 5, 2024, general election.

A federal grand jury in Minnesota district returned the two-count indictment on Thursday, the US Justice Department said.

According to the indictment, on or about November 5, 2024, Chaudhari signed the voter signature certificate required by Minnesota law in order to vote in the general election.

The certificate required him to swear or affirm that he was a citizen of the United States. The indictment alleges that Chaudhari was not a US citizen and that he knowingly made the false citizenship statement in order to vote.

“The right to vote is a sacred privilege of American citizenship, and every lawful voter deserves an election system in which that right is protected,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.

“The department will hold accountable those who knowingly make false claims of citizenship in order to vote. The integrity of our elections depends on ensuring that only eligible citizens cast ballots and that every lawful vote is counted,” Dhillon said.

Chaudhari is charged with one count of false information and one count of making a false claim of citizenship in order to register to vote and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. PTI YAS ARI

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