Sacramento woman 'mortified' by voting charge as feds arrest dozens ahead of election

Sharon Bernstein, The Sacramento Bee on Nov 2, 2026

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Meryll Quirong Costi was mortified, her lawyer said, as she sat in federal court with her legs shackled together, wearing orange pants and a white T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Prisoner” across the back.

A lawful permanent resident of the United States but not a citizen, Costi was among 12 people in California arrested or charged by federal authorities on Monday with allegedly registering to vote or voting as a noncitizen, misdemeanor offenses punishable by up to one year in prison.

The arrests and charges, among 63 announced by federal prosecutors nationwide, came just a day before pivotal midterm elections that will decide control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Last month, federal authorities arrested or charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with similar misdemeanors. Several were also charged with immigration violations, including felonies.

Separately, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow filed charges of voter registration fraud, fraudulent voting and perjury against a man and said he was considering similar charges against 16 others.

The timing of the prosecutions — one day before the midterm elections — raises questions, said Costi’s attorney, Kyle Knapp.

“I understand what the allegations are against my client, but both the crime charged and the timing of this prosecution to me are something that truly needs to be explored,” Knapp said.

Monday’s charges and arrests were the latest efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to bolster the credibility of a database at the heart of a federal lawsuit seeking to force California to set aside the ballots of some 20,000 people.

The prosecutions were part of a flurry of lawsuits and criminal charges brought by the federal government, along with legal actions by states and others, in connection with the closely contested election, which could shift control of Congress away from Trump’s Republican Party.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency petition by the Justice Department seeking to force California to separate ballots cast by 20,000 people the department says may be noncitizens illegally registered to vote. Last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals twice rejected the same request. U.S. District Judge David Carter also rejected the request, saying it was unprecedented and amounted to meddling in California’s election.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has said the charges and lawsuits are part of an effort by the Trump administration to sow doubt about California’s elections. The Justice Department says it is seeking to combat voter fraud and protect election integrity.

Within days of filing its lawsuit against the state, federal prosecutors began preparing criminal complaints against people suspected of registering or voting illegally.

Among them, court records show, was Costi, 36.

Costi, who wore her long hair neatly groomed in court, is married and has worked for years at a skilled nursing facility, Knapp said. She turned herself in to federal authorities at 8 a.m. Monday and was taken into custody, surrendering her civilian clothing and being placed in restraints around her waist, legs and, at one point, hands.

Family members sat in the courtroom, watching quietly.

“She’s beside herself,” Knapp said. “Her name is being splashed about. She’s going to make the news.”

Costi came to investigators’ attention after a September interview with immigration authorities regarding her citizenship application, according to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Laura Giouzelis. During the interview, she said she had never falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen, although she “vaguely” remembered filling out a voter registration form, the affidavit said.

On Oct. 23, FBI agents visited Costi at her home to ask about voter registration and two mail-in ballots she had completed, the affidavit said. She told agents that while she remembered receiving the ballots, she did not remember registering to vote, Giouzelis said in the affidavit.

According to Giouzelis, records showed Costi returned mail-in ballots in 2022 and 2024.

Knapp said he planned to investigate how Costi began receiving ballots.

He did not offer a theory. But in California, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote when conducting certain transactions with the Department of Motor Vehicles, which has acknowledged inadvertently registering some people in the past.

“I look forward to truly finding out what the true facts are as to how and why she registered to vote and how that got transmitted, such that she received ballots,” Knapp said.

Costi made her initial appearance in federal court in Sacramento on Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire released her on her own recognizance and scheduled her next court hearing for Nov. 30.

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