James Ross Wightman, 65, a British national, was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on January 24, 2025, on six counts of voting illegally. Wightman, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, is accused of unlawfully casting ballots in several local and national elections from 2022 to 2024.
The arrest follows an investigation led by FDLE’s Election Crime Unit (ECU) in collaboration with the Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), the U.S. Department of State, and other law enforcement agencies. The investigation revealed that Wightman, who had overstayed his Visitor Visa and was voluntarily deported in 1989 after a drug offense, had illegally registered to vote in 2000. In 2013, Wightman presented a fraudulent Ohio birth certificate to renew his Florida Driver’s License, which the Ohio Department of Health confirmed was not valid.
Despite his lack of U.S. citizenship, Wightman participated in six elections, casting illegal votes between 2022 and 2024. FDLE investigators, assisted by the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, and Miami Beach Police Department, apprehended Wightman in Miami Beach.
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said, “Florida leads the nation in election security, and we continue to aggressively enforce our laws to stop non-citizens from voting. Under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, The Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security swiftly reviews allegations of fraud working with FDLE and law enforcement to ensure Florida laws are followed.”
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass emphasized Florida’s commitment to election integrity, stating, “Anyone who seeks to illegally cast their ballot will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Wightman is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and faces prosecution by the Office of the State Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit.
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