An Instance of Voter Fraud in Texas

[Bill the Cat]

Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-texas-woman-%e2%80%98voted-like-a-us-citizen%e2%80%99-only-she-wasn%e2%80%99t/ar-BBylpiO?li=BBnb7Kz

When Rosa Maria Ortega was a teenager, her mother was deported to her native Mexico after being arrested twice.

As she grew up, Ms. Ortega decided to take a different route. Lacking a high school diploma, she signed up for the Job Corps at age 18 and snagged a position at a state employment office.

In 2012, she registered to vote, and not only cast ballots in the next two elections but served as a poll worker. Divorced, she raised four children, now teenagers, sometimes working three jobs.

“When my mom was here, she did everything illegal,” Ms. Ortega, 37, said in an interview. “I wasn’t going to let that happen to me.”

She may not have a choice. Ms. Ortega, of Grand Prairie, Tex., a suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth, is a permanent resident with a green card, but she is not an American citizen. In a case that made national headlines last month, she was found guilty, fined $5,000 and sentenced to eight years in prison because the ballots she cast in 2012 and 2014 were illegal. While green-card holders have many of the rights of citizens, they cannot vote.

If the verdict is upheld, she will serve her sentence and, in all likelihood, be deported to Mexico. For green-card holders, a criminal conviction is effectively a ticket for deportation.

Her punishment may be unprecedented for an offense that often draws a minimal sentence or probation. Ms. Ortega, who has a seventh-grade education and a sometimes shaky grasp on the complexities of her life, has steadfastly insisted that she did not know she was violating the law — that she is being imprisoned and probably deported for the crime of being confused.

“I thought I was doing something right,” Ms. Ortega said. “It wasn’t to hurt somebody, or the state, or the government. I even worked for the government.

“I voted like a U.S. citizen,” she said. “The only thing is, I didn’t know I couldn’t vote.”

© Copyright Original Source

[guacamole]

Poor thing. To have done such a mistake in this world at this time. Wonder why she never tried to become a citizen if she had a green card.

[Sparko]

I feel sorry for her. In her case I don't think she was trying to do something illegal or sneaky. Just ignorant.

I am against deliberate voter fraud.

[guacamole]

I feel sorry for her. In her case I don't think she was trying to do something illegal or sneaky. Just ignorant.

I am against deliberate voter fraud.

Agreed. I suppose they'll make an example out of her because open and shut cases of voter fraud are a bit on the rare side, afaik. I can't say they're wrong though because it's obviously the wrong thing to let slide. I wonder if she'll get leniency? It seems like being the kind of person who will work three jobs to support her kids is the kind of person we want in the States.

[Sparko]

Agreed. I suppose they'll make an example out of her because open and shut cases of voter fraud are a bit on the rare side, afaik. I can't say they're wrong though because it's obviously the wrong thing to let slide. I wonder if she'll get leniency? It seems like being the kind of person who will work three jobs to support her kids is the kind of person we want in the States.

she is even a LEGAL immigrant with a green card. I hope they give her leniency, a suspended sentence and no deportation.

If they actually checked your citizenship when you registered to vote, this would have been avoided. It is an argument for stricter checks and ID's for voter registration, not only to prevent deliberate fraud, but ignorance too.

[guacamole]

she is even a LEGAL immigrant with a green card. I hope they give her leniency, a suspended sentence and no deportation.

If they actually checked your citizenship when you registered to vote, this would have been avoided. It is an argument for stricter checks and ID's for voter registration, not only to prevent deliberate fraud, but ignorance too.

Yeah, that's a grim irony here.

[Sparko]

hmmm reading the rest of the article in the OP, it is not so innocent sounding after all.

She first registered to vote in Dallas and checked the box that asked if she was a US citizen.

Then she moved and registered again, this time checking the noncitizen box.

When her registration was rejected, she called elections officials, telling them that she had voted in Dallas. Told that people who checked the noncitizen box were ineligible to vote, she reapplied, this time indicating that she was a citizen. An elections worker who remembered her earlier comment about voting in Dallas became suspicious, and forwarded the application to the authorities.

so she did know what she was doing, and deliberately lied. The first time in Dallas, although that could be an error, but then at her new home she was TOLD that she could not vote if she was not a citizen and then tried to re-register and lied and said she was a citizen. That shows intent to commit fraud. Which would be why they decided to go after her for her earlier voting.

[guacamole]

hmmm reading the rest of the article in the OP, it is not so innocent sounding after all.

She first registered to vote in Dallas and checked the box that asked if she was a US citizen.

Then she moved and registered again, this time checking the noncitizen box.

When her registration was rejected, she called elections officials, telling them that she had voted in Dallas. Told that people who checked the noncitizen box were ineligible to vote, she reapplied, this time indicating that she was a citizen. An elections worker who remembered her earlier comment about voting in Dallas became suspicious, and forwarded the application to the authorities.

so she did know what she was doing, and deliberately lied. The first time in Dallas, although that could be an error, but then at her new home she was TOLD that she could not vote if she was not a citizen and then tried to re-register and lied and said she was a citizen. That shows intent to commit fraud. Which would be why they decided to go after her for her earlier voting.

Hmm. So we should read the article in the op before jumping to conclusions? I'll have to try that. She sounds like an idiot then.

[Bill the Cat]

I found the part where they said "Her punishment may be unprecedented for an offense that often draws a minimal sentence or probation" yet they go on to say that it isn't common...

[guacamole]

I found the part where they said "Her punishment may be unprecedented for an offense that often draws a minimal sentence or probation" yet they go on to say that it isn't common...

It's a definitely a weird sentence, evidence of the loosening of editorial standards in the transition to ephemeral news that is written, consumed, and forgotten the same day.