RALEIGH, N.C. — A 70-year-old Canadian citizen who lived in the United States since the 1960s but never obtained citizenship was sentenced to two months in federal prison for falsely claiming to be an American citizen in order to vote in North Carolina elections spanning two decades.
Denis Bouchard pleaded guilty to two counts of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f) — making false claims of U.S. citizenship. Voting records confirm he unlawfully cast ballots in nine federal elections between 2004 and 2024, including the 2022 elections and the 2024 presidential election. He illegally certified that he was a United States citizen on North Carolina voter registration applications and ballots.
“We will not allow aliens to disrupt and degrade the U.S. democratic system by lying to pervert the outcome our elections. Every American citizen’s vote is sacred. Allowing a single illegal vote by any ineligible person destroys and negates a citizen’s vote,” U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle stated. “We have had recent statewide elections decided by 401 votes; some local elections decided by about 20 votes. It happened here, and it can happen anywhere.”
Boyle added that the sentence “sends a strong warning about the consequences of attempting to take advantage of this country’s free and fair election process. We will protect the Constitutional right of citizens to vote, and prosecute those who attempt to corrupt that system.”
The Honorable James C. Dever announced the sentence in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In addition to the two-month prison term, Bouchard faces one year of supervised release and will be subject to immigration consequences.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the North Carolina Board of Elections and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Haughton prosecuted the case, which was filed as Case No. 7:25-CR-00083-D.