Patrick Terrance Reid
Introduction
Patrick Terrance Reid is a 61-year-old Jamaican national living in Orange, New Jersey, who entered the United States from Jamaica on an SA1 immigrant visa. In September 2026, he was charged in federal court with voting by an alien in a federal election and with making false statements while applying for United States citizenship. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, prosecutors allege he cast ballots in four consecutive presidential elections without ever becoming a U.S. citizen, then denied his voting history on his naturalization application.
Background Information
Reid entered the United States from Jamaica on an SA1 immigrant visa, a form of lawful status that stopped short of citizenship and did not authorize him to vote in federal elections. According to documents filed in the case, he registered to vote while still a non-citizen, falsely certifying and attesting on his voter registration forms that he was a United States citizen. Citizenship is a prerequisite for both registering and voting in federal elections, and prosecutors allege Reid proceeded through that process anyway, later submitting an N-400 naturalization application.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. Reid faces criminal complaints alleging he voted as a non-citizen and lied on his citizenship application; the accusations are unproven and he is presumed innocent.
According to documents filed in the case, prosecutors allege Reid voted in-person in the presidential elections held in November 2012 and November 2016, and via mail-in ballot in the presidential elections in November 2020 and November 2024 — four consecutive presidential contests, each of which included candidates vying for federal office. At the time he cast those ballots, prosecutors say, Reid was still without United States citizenship and therefore not authorized to vote in federal elections. They further allege that after voting illegally, he applied to become a citizen by submitting an N-400 application, which requires the applicant to swear under penalty of perjury that the information provided is complete, true, and correct, and that Reid falsely claimed in it that he had never registered to vote or voted in any federal elections. He was charged alongside Danubis Bernat, a co-announced defendant named in a separate complaint.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer and brought under his office’s Election Integrity Task Force, a coalition of federal law enforcement partners focused on protecting the integrity of elections in New Jersey. According to the release, investigations were handled by the FBI under Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reid’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McCarren and Joseph McFarlane of the office’s Special Prosecutions Division. The voting counts each carry a maximum of one year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000, while the false-statement counts carry up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Current Status
Reid had his initial appearance on September 24, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in federal court in Newark. His case remains pending in the District of New Jersey, and no plea or trial outcome is mentioned in the announcement. The charges at this stage are allegations set out in criminal complaints, not findings of guilt. As the U.S. Attorney’s Office itself notes, “The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
Impact on Their Career/Life
Beyond the criminal charges themselves, the allegations reach the thing Reid was reportedly pursuing: United States citizenship. According to prosecutors, he submitted his N-400 naturalization application only after voting illegally in four presidential elections, falsely claiming on the form that he had never registered to vote or voted in any federal election. Now 61, he must answer federal charges in Newark while the naturalization application at the center of the false-statement allegations hangs unresolved. The charges alone place his immigration status and citizenship ambitions, at minimum, in question.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, “Aliens Charged with Illegally Voting in Federal Election and Making False Statements While Applying for U.S. Citizenship” — source