A Peruvian national is now facing four federal charges for allegedly voting in the 2024 presidential race.
Mariana Alexandra Dewey, a 24-year-old Wichita resident, is accused of registering to vote and casting a ballot in Kansas despite being a lawful permanent resident, not a U.S. citizen. A federal grand jury indicted her on September 10th following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.
HSI special agents arrested Dewey at a Wichita residence on September 1st. The case centers on her alleged participation in the November 5th, 2024, general election in Sedgwick County. She was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge on September 14th.
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The investigation began in April after Dewey relocated to a new address. An investigator reached out to her, and she initially told them she was a U.S. citizen. She later acknowledged she was a Peruvian citizen and lawful permanent resident, and then allegedly admitted to voting in the 2024 election.
As originally reported, investigators pulled records from the Hope Church polling location where Dewey allegedly voted. Those records showed she signed a provisional pollbook and submitted a Kansas voter-registration form identifying herself as an American citizen. The ballot she allegedly cast included races for president, vice president, U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and various state and local offices.
The four-count indictment includes making a false claim of citizenship, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in order to vote, fraudulent election conduct, and voting as an alien in a federal election. Prosecutors contend Dewey falsely certified her eligibility as a citizen both when registering and when submitting her ballot.
U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser made the Justice Department’s position clear. The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting election integrity and is actively investigating and prosecuting these cases,” he said. Kriegshauser added that anyone found by a court to have falsely claimed citizenship and voted, or attempted to vote, could face serious criminal consequences.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Fadler is handling the prosecution. The case was built on the HSI investigation that led to Dewey’s arrest and indictment.
The case adds to a pattern federal prosecutors say they are actively pursuing. Kriegshauser’s office has made clear that non-citizens who fraudulently participate in federal elections will face prosecution, and this indictment signals that investigators are continuing to act on that commitment.
