A South Florida man has been indicted on federal charges for voting while not being a U.S. citizen and engaging in passport fraud. Ashley R. Rivers, 64, of Margate, Fla., is accused of using a fake identity to obtain a U.S. passport and vote in multiple elections, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced today.
The indictment states that Rivers submitted a passport application in 2016, registered to vote in 2020, and cast ballots in both the 2020 and 2024 U.S. general elections using a fictitious name and forged documents, including a counterfeit birth certificate. Rivers, who is not a U.S. citizen, made his first court appearance in federal court in Fort Lauderdale yesterday.
If convicted, Rivers faces up to 25 years in federal prison. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service's Miami Field Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Killoran handling the prosecution.
An indictment is an allegation, not a conviction, and Rivers is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Updates on the case are available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida website and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
