A Wake County man was sentenced to four months in prison for illegally voting in the 2012 and 2016 elections.
Roberto Hernandez-Cuarenta, 57, of Zebulon, was convicted on two counts of voting by alien.
Although Hernandez-Cuarenta is a legal resident of the United States, the native of Mexico is not a U.S. citizen, rendering him ineligible to cast ballots in U.S. elections.
According to authorities, Hernandez-Cuarenta, “knowing he was not a United States citizen, did knowingly vote in two elections held in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the Office of President, Vice President, and Member of the House of Representative.”
“The right to vote is a precious privilege available only to citizens of the United States,” said Robert J. Higdon Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “When a non-citizen votes in a federal election it serves to dilute and devalue the vote of American citizens and places the decision-making authority of the American electorate in the hands of those who have no right to make those choices.”
Hernandez-Cuarenta was sentenced to time served on both counts which is four months of imprisonment.