Rob Woodward
2018-12-01 08:03:35 UTC
Revoke her citizenship and deport her ass.
An appeals court upheld last years conviction of a Texas woman who
officials said voted illegally multiple times, Attorney General Ken
Paxton said Tuesday.
Rosa Maria Ortega, a green card holder, is a permanent resident who
lives in the Dallas area. On voter registration forms, Ortega marked
she was a U.S. citizen allowing her to vote illegally for more than
10 years, Paxtons office said.
The mother of four was sentenced to eight years in prison with parole
eligibility in less than one year. She was also fined $5,000. The
Texas 2nd Court of Appeals upheld the conviction Tuesday.
The attorney generals office said it had offered Ortega a lesser
punishment so she could avoid prison just two years of community
supervision but she declined and chose a jury trial instead.
This case underscores the importance that Texans place on the
institution of voting and the hallowed principle that every citizens
vote must count, Paxton said in a statement. We will hold those
accountable who falsely claim eligibility and purposely subvert the
election process in Texas.
Ortega had said she was confused by the voter registration forms and
made a mistake when she marked that she was a U.S. citizen on the
paperwork.
All my life since I worked, I always on my knowledge thought I was a
U.S. citizen because I never knew the difference of U.S. citizen and
U.S. resident, Ortega said, according to KDFW-TV. And the point is
if I knew, everything wouldve been the correct way.
Clark Birdsall, her attorney, told The Washington Post the only
options on the form was citizen or noncitizen.
She doesnt know. Shes got this [green] card that says resident on
it, so she doesnt mark that shes not a citizen. She had no ulterior
motive beyond what she thought, mistakenly, was her civic duty,
Birdsall said.
But prosecutors didnt buy the defense. They said she initially marked
she was not a U.S. citizen on a voter registration form when she moved
from Dallas County to Tarrant County in 2014 and was informed she
would not be eligible to vote. When she applied again, she indicated
she was a U.S. citizen, according to Paxtons office.
Records show Ortega was a registered Republican, and she cast a ballot
for Paxton in 2014. She voted in four elections in Dallas County after
she registered to vote in 2002. She voted five other times between
2004 and 2014, the attorney generals office said.
Voter fraud became a hot-button issue after President Trump made an
unsubstantiated claim that he would have won the popular vote in the
2016 election if millions of people had not illegally voted.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-court-upholds-conviction-of-woman-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison-for-voter-fraud
An appeals court upheld last years conviction of a Texas woman who
officials said voted illegally multiple times, Attorney General Ken
Paxton said Tuesday.
Rosa Maria Ortega, a green card holder, is a permanent resident who
lives in the Dallas area. On voter registration forms, Ortega marked
she was a U.S. citizen allowing her to vote illegally for more than
10 years, Paxtons office said.
The mother of four was sentenced to eight years in prison with parole
eligibility in less than one year. She was also fined $5,000. The
Texas 2nd Court of Appeals upheld the conviction Tuesday.
The attorney generals office said it had offered Ortega a lesser
punishment so she could avoid prison just two years of community
supervision but she declined and chose a jury trial instead.
This case underscores the importance that Texans place on the
institution of voting and the hallowed principle that every citizens
vote must count, Paxton said in a statement. We will hold those
accountable who falsely claim eligibility and purposely subvert the
election process in Texas.
Ortega had said she was confused by the voter registration forms and
made a mistake when she marked that she was a U.S. citizen on the
paperwork.
All my life since I worked, I always on my knowledge thought I was a
U.S. citizen because I never knew the difference of U.S. citizen and
U.S. resident, Ortega said, according to KDFW-TV. And the point is
if I knew, everything wouldve been the correct way.
Clark Birdsall, her attorney, told The Washington Post the only
options on the form was citizen or noncitizen.
She doesnt know. Shes got this [green] card that says resident on
it, so she doesnt mark that shes not a citizen. She had no ulterior
motive beyond what she thought, mistakenly, was her civic duty,
Birdsall said.
But prosecutors didnt buy the defense. They said she initially marked
she was not a U.S. citizen on a voter registration form when she moved
from Dallas County to Tarrant County in 2014 and was informed she
would not be eligible to vote. When she applied again, she indicated
she was a U.S. citizen, according to Paxtons office.
Records show Ortega was a registered Republican, and she cast a ballot
for Paxton in 2014. She voted in four elections in Dallas County after
she registered to vote in 2002. She voted five other times between
2004 and 2014, the attorney generals office said.
Voter fraud became a hot-button issue after President Trump made an
unsubstantiated claim that he would have won the popular vote in the
2016 election if millions of people had not illegally voted.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-court-upholds-conviction-of-woman-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison-for-voter-fraud