North Carolina
Mexican citizen who voted in 2016 US election won’t go to prison, NC judge says
Patricia Franco-Rodriguez, a citizen of Mexico, sidestepped decades behind bars for illegal voting when a federal judge sentenced her Monday to a $975 fine and $25 special assessment — but no prison time.
The 28-year-old was one of more than a dozen non-U.S. citizens in North Carolina charged last year with voting illegally during the 2016 presidential election, the News & Observer reported.
“Franco-Rodriguez voted in the General Election of 2016,” prosecutors said in a press release. “When questioned by Homeland Security agents, Franco-Rodriguez admitted that she voted for all of the positions in the ballot.”
She initially faced 26 years in prison and a $350,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Franco-Rodriguez was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, but granted lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. in 2009, according to a federal indictment. While residing in Johnston County in 2012, she registered to vote as a U.S. citizen.
Four years later when applying for citizenship, she said she had never claimed to be a U.S. citizen, the indictment states. Franco-Rodriguez voted in Wake County while that application was pending, according to the indictment.
It was denied in June 2017, and a grand jury subsequently indicted her on charges of fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, and voting by an alien, prosecutors said.
She pleaded guilty to illegal voting by an alien in April this year, court records show.
Allegations of voter fraud from the 2016 election are likely to carry over in 2020, the N&O reported.
But an audit of the 2016 elections by North Carolina investigators found only 41 voters out of 4.8 million had voted illegally as citizens of another country.
“The investigation turned up nearly as many false positives as confirmed cases,” the N&O reported. “In addition to the 41 non-citizen voters who were caught, investigators also looked into 34 people who turned out to actually be citizens.”
Judges have remained skeptical of the voter fraud crackdown.
Of the 19 immigrants charged alongside Franco-Rodriguez, the N&O reported several ended with low-dollar fines and probation.
An election official in Wake County caught up in the crackdown was also sentenced in February to two months in prison for helping a non-U.S. citizen to vote.
In another case involving a 70-year-old green card holder from Korea, the judge ultimately chastised the election board for not knowing better when she presented a green card, Social Security number and driver’s license to register.
Hyo Suk George — who voted in 2008, 2010 and 2016 — was fined only $100.
Comments