SLO County charges foreign born alien with voter fraud

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced Monday that his office has filed three felony charges against a 31-year-old San Luis Obispo County man for allegedly registering and voting as a non-citizen — and that charges against 16 additional non-citizen county residents are pending.

The announcement, made at a joint press conference with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, marks the local front of a broader federal-state effort targeting non-citizen voting in California, CalCoastNews reported.

The Charges Against Ambos

Dow's office filed three state felony counts against John Raul S. Ambos: voter registration fraud, perjury, and fraudulent voting. According to officials, Ambos — described as a foreign-born non-citizen — registered to vote in August 2016, signing a statement under penalty of perjury affirming he was a U.S. citizen. He then cast a ballot in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election.

"Every ballot cast by someone who is not eligible dilutes the vote of every citizen who is eligible to vote," Dow said. "Whether a person is here lawfully or unlawfully, if they are not a U.S. citizen, they may not vote in California's elections."

Officials did not detail Monday whether Ambos has been taken into custody or when he is scheduled to be arraigned. Neither Dow's office nor the U.S. Attorney's office had posted the charging documents publicly as of Monday afternoon.

A Three-Year Investigation

According to statements at Monday's press conference, the investigation stretched more than three years and involved hundreds of federal agents. Investigators crosschecked signatures on green cards and citizenship applications against signatures on voter registration records to identify non-citizens who had registered or voted.

Dow said Monday that his office intends to pursue voter fraud charges against 16 additional non-citizen residents of San Luis Obispo County.

On the federal side, Essayli announced charges Monday against six foreign nationals, bringing the total number of foreign-born permanent residents — or "green card" holders — arrested by his office for voter fraud to 36.

The probe intersects with a high-stakes legal fight over ballot handling. Officials said that on Oct. 13, the federal government provided California election officials a list of 20,000 individuals whose ballots were to be set aside pending confirmation of citizenship status. California declined to assist, according to the officials, prompting a U.S. lawsuit seeking a court order to segregate those ballots — a suit the government lost at the lower court level. An emergency appeal was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, which officials said was scheduled to be heard Monday.

"I would tell Newsom to stop playing politics and work with us," Essayli said. "We need to stop the ballots from being commingled." Officials said segregating the ballots — rather than opening them — would allow investigators to review the votes as part of their ongoing probe.

Why It Matters Locally

For San Luis Obispo County voters, the case lands days before Election Day in a state already roiled by disputes over election integrity and immigration enforcement. Dow used the press conference to argue that California's registration system relies too heavily on an honor system.

"In California, anyone can register to vote by claiming they are a U.S. citizen," Dow and Essayli said, noting that when an applicant checks a box and signs a citizenship attestation, the state and counties generally accept it without further verification.

"For too long, California's statewide election officials have treated that honor system as good enough," Dow said. "It is not." He added: "Whatever your view on that question, California must never be allowed to be a sanctuary for illegal voting."

The practical effect on local election administration remains unclear. SLO County Clerk-Recorder officials did not immediately respond to questions Monday about whether any local ballots have been flagged or segregated as a result of the federal list. Voters with questions about their registration status can check it through the county elections office or the California Secretary of State's registration lookup tool.

Context and What Comes Next

Non-citizen voting is already a crime under both state and federal law, and convictions can carry prison time as well as immigration consequences, including deportation and permanent bars on future citizenship. Prosecutors did not say Monday whether any of the individuals charged have lawful permanent resident status, though Essayli's federal arrests involved green card holders.

The scope of the alleged conduct described Monday appears narrow relative to the county's electorate: 17 charged or pending defendants in a county with well over 150,000 registered voters. Election researchers have consistently found non-citizen voting to be rare nationally, though Dow and Essayli argued Monday that even isolated cases warrant prosecution.

What happens next will unfold on several tracks. Ambos's case moves through San Luis Obispo Superior Court on the three felony counts. The 16 additional state cases are expected to be filed in the coming weeks. Federal charges against the six foreign nationals announced Monday proceed separately in federal court. And the U.S. Supreme Court's response to the emergency appeal over ballot segregation could shape how — and whether — flagged ballots are handled as vote counting proceeds.

805.life will continue to follow this story as the cases move through the courts.

This article is based on reporting by [CalCoastNews](https://calcoastnews.com/2026/11/slo-county-charges-foreign-born-alien-with-voter-fraud/). Charges are allegations; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.