A 65-year-old British man, James Ross Wightman, has been arrested in Miami Beach, Florida, for allegedly voting illegally six times in local and national elections over the past three years. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) reported that Wightman, an “illegal alien” from the United Kingdom, cast votes in elections in 2022, 2023, and 2024, though it remains unclear who he voted for.
Wightman has a history with U.S. immigration authorities. In 1989, he was voluntarily deported after a drug offense arrest in Hawaii and overstaying his visitor visa. Despite this, FDLE investigators claim he returned to the U.S. and falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on a voter registration form in 2000, registering as a no-party voter during the presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush.
Further investigations revealed that Wightman used a fictitious Ohio birth certificate in 2013 when renewing his Florida driver’s license. The Ohio Department of Health confirmed that there was no record of the birth certificate he presented.
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd emphasized that the state remains committed to election security under Governor Ron DeSantis’ leadership, vowing to enforce laws against non-citizens voting.
Wightman, who has been booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, faces prosecution by the Office of the State Attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 for voter fraud.
The case underscores Florida’s aggressive stance on election security, with continued efforts to prevent voter fraud.
