British Green Card Holder Charged With Illegally Voting in Harris County Election

Samuel James Hall, a British national and U.S. green card holder living in Harris County, has been federally charged with casting a ballot in the 2024 general election despite not being an American citizen. He pleaded not guilty at his initial federal court appearance and posted bond, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors allege Hall voted in four races during the 2024 election: president, vice president, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. He faces a federal misdemeanor charge of voting by an alien, which carries a penalty of up to one year in federal prison. The criminal information against him was filed earlier this month.

Hall's defense attorney, James Alston, told KPRC2 that his client has lived in the Houston area for several years and holds a green card, but is not a U.S. citizen. Hall told the judge at his court appearance that he is employed and lives in Harris County.

The Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar's Office discovered Hall's name on the voter rolls last June, seven months after the election. Officials notified Hall, who then cancelled his own registration. He is no longer registered to vote in Harris County.

"As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to share more at this time and remain committed to ensuring that the voter registration rolls are up to date and that only eligible citizens are enrolled and part of the process," the registrar's office said in a statement.

A central question in the case remains unanswered: how Hall was able to register to vote in the first place. The registrar's office has not provided an explanation.

The FBI's Houston field office is involved in the investigation. The case arrives amid broader scrutiny of non-citizen voting in Texas. The Texas Secretary of State identified 33 people who may have illegally voted out of nearly 11.4 million ballots cast in the 2024 election, a figure that was not sufficient to affect any race's outcome. Hall's case represents one federal prosecution stemming from that broader review of voter rolls.