Miami, FL - A British national, previously deported from the United States, has been arrested for allegedly participating in multiple South Florida elections while residing in the country unlawfully.
Authorities say 65-year-old James Ross Wightman, of Miami Beach, was taken into custody by Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agents on Friday morning.
Wightman faces six counts of illegal voting and is currently held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
According to Miami-Dade voter records, Wightman has been registered to vote since 2000, listing a South Beach apartment as his residence.
He is registered as a no-party-affiliation voter.
An FDLE news release indicates that Wightman was voluntarily deported in 1989 following a drug-related arrest in Hawaii.
Authorities allege that after re-entering the U.S. illegally, he falsely affirmed citizenship and, in 2013, presented a fraudulent Ohio birth certificate to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles while renewing his driver's license.
Subsequently, he allegedly voted illegally in six local and national elections between 2022 and 2024.
The investigation was conducted in collaboration with federal agencies and the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Office.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle emphasized the gravity of the allegations, stating that there is "no excuse for such actions or conduct."
As of Friday afternoon, records show Wightman is being held on a $15,000 bond with an immigration hold in place.