Accidental Voter..Permanent Resident..

[A❤R 2]

Hi Everyone,

I am now in the process of removing condition on my residency. I just recently found out that as a permanent resident I cant register to vote and vote. When I got my driver's license 2 years ago they asked me at Motor Vehicle if I want to register to vote even I presented my birth certificate and green card as an identification so I asked if I still can register she said yes..so I went ahead and registered. Last Primary election I went and vote, thinking since they sent me my voter's ID i am eligible to vote. It was just yesterday when I thought of looking up online and found out that what I did was a big mistake. I rushed to my County Clerk's office and cancelled my regiatration. I will go back Friday after the election to get some sort of letter that will confirm that I cancelled my regiatration, history of my voting and copy of my registration form. My question is how this event will affect my on going Removal of Condition Process? And what else can I do? Does anybody here experienced this too? Please help...i'm really freaking out reading the stuff on the internet that my petition could be denied and I could face deportation.

Thanks..

[canadian_wife 1,829]

So you did vote? It is your responsibility to know what you can and cannot do as a permanent resident regardless of what someone at the DMV says. I am not sure how you register to vote knowing that only citizens can vote.

So I guess my question is, did you know that only citizens can vote or did you honestly think that PRs can vote?

Good luck

[Eric-Pris 1,607]

I'm sure that somebody will come by and give you more accurate information, but I believe that is about the biggest mistake a PR can make. I may be wrong, but I think that makes you ineligible for citizenship. On the N-400 application, there are questions that will get you.

-Have you ever claimed to be a US Citizen (in writing or any other way)?

-Have to ever registered to vote in any election in the US?

-Have you ever voted in any election in the US?

I'm not sure what will happen to your ROC, or green card, since they probably won't know about it yet. But it will definitely be a problem if you decide to apply for citizenship. This is not advise since I don't know, but maybe getting out in front of this and confessing to immigration may be your best choice. Again, don't do anything until you have competent legal advise. You are definitely in a bad situation because you represented yourself as a US Citizen, even though you were helped by stupid DMV employees. You signed the form, so you're ultimately responsible for that. By signing the form, here's what you affirmed to:

Affidavit: I swear or affirm that

• I am a citizen of the United States.

• I will have lived in the county, city or village

for at least 30 days before the election.

• I meet all requirements to register

to vote in ________.

• This is my signature or mark in the box below.

• The above information is true, I understand that

if it is not true, I can be convicted and fined up

to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't want to get political, but it's relevant here. The fact that you were allowed to register and even vote casts a lot of doubt on the legitimacy of our system. And your case is not all that special. I've heard of other non-citizens registering and actually voting for the Prez in past elections. I could have cast 2 votes in an election some time back if I wanted to. When I turned 18, I legally changed my first name. When I went to vote that first Prez election, there were 2 entries in the log for me, one under my new first name and one under the old first name. Since I had state ID's under both names, it would be easy especially since the lady that was checking the names was probably 85 years old and I doubt that she would even notice. I haven't voted since but I may go tonight just to see if both my names are still there.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Eric-Pris

[NikLR 13,232]

Youve made yourself ineligible for citizenship

By voting once you claimed citizenship.

[A❤R 2]

So you did vote? It is your responsibility to know what you can and cannot do as a permanent resident regardless of what someone at the DMV says. I am not sure how you register to vote knowing that only citizens can vote.

So I guess my question is, did you know that only citizens can vote or did you honestly think that PRs can vote?

Good luck

I honestly thought I can vote since they allowed me to register and they sent a voters ID...I was new here in the US and stupid back then and did not think it will matter..?

[canadian_wife 1,829]

In my welcome packet from USCIS (yes I still have it) it outlines voting and says non-citizens cannot vote.

Did you get a welcome packet? Do you still have it?

Good luck

[A❤R 2]

No, I dont have it anymore. Can't even remember if I ever received that.

[mindthegap 2,607]

Go and see a (good) lawyer.

The problem is made even worse because you didn't just register to vote when inelligible, you actually went and voted.

My understanding is that it probably won't affect your current I-751 - unless the feds uncover it or it is flagged during their checks- but you have now rendered yourself ineligible to file for citizenship. Even if you lied on the N-400 (which I am NOT suggesting you do, in any way), during their checks it could well be found, which would screw you anyway.

Edited November 8, 2016 by mindthegap

[yuna628 9,725]

It unfortunately does matter, and should have consequences down the line for citizenship if not also be an deportable offense that results in jail time. Did your USC spouse not inform you of your restrictions? As citizens, Americans should have a greater proactive responsibility in protecting their foreign spouses statuses from ill-informed mistakes. Registration by mistake can happen, and it's important to get yourself removed... however it will be compounded because then you actually voted. Prohibition of non citizens voting has been around largely in the law for a very long historical time, with only small exceptions in certain states when it comes to small town local elections but even this is rare. Getting yourself removed and confirmed removed in writing from any voting record may assist but this would be something for an experienced attorney especially since you went through on the act.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I know of a case where a PR did vote, was questioned on his citizenship interview and got citizenship anyway but this is a major exception.

[f f 725]

not sure which state you are in so since it was a primary they may not have been actual votes for the office just votes for which people are on the ballot. so you might be able to wiggle out with that argument. but if there were any offices being chosen or propositions being voted on you can't get out and since there is no way to prove you voted for this part and nor that it is you either voted on the whole ballot or you didn't vote. sorry about the situation.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Here's where you may have some trouble. The very first thing, at least on the online version of registering to vote in MO, says all the rules.

The part that gets me, is all cards seem to ask the same thing first: "Are you a citizen of the United States of America".

"Completing this form (All information is required unless indicated as optional): Boxes 1 and 2 -- Citizen and Age Requirements Federal Law requires voter registration applicants to answer these two questions." https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri/register2vote/St.LouisCity.pdf



While you could plead ignorance to "not understanding the question", it's hard to do so when you've K-1'd and AOS'd, which require paperwork that have questions that are just about as obvious. Ignorance of the law, generally doesn't free you of the law.


If you ticked "Yes" to "Are you a citizen of the United States of America", you've lied under oath. It's a straight question, no leeway. You're either a citizen, or you aren't.

This isn't really an issue of "Did you know you couldn't vote?", it's an issue of "Did you check Yes, saying that you are in fact a USC, when you are not?" The not knowing you weren't suppose to vote is a bit different from saying under oath, that you're a USC, when you're not.

"I hereby certify that I am a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state of Missouri. I am at least seventeen and one half years of age. I have not been adjudged incapacitated by any court of law. If I have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor connected with the right of suffrage, I have had the voting disabilities resulting from such conviction removed pursuant to law. I swear under penalty of perjury that all statements made on this card are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that if I register to vote knowing that I am not legally entitled to register, I am committing a class one election offense and may be punished by imprisonment of not more than five years or by a fine of between two thousand five hundred dollars and ten thousand dollars or by both such imprisonment and fine."

- The bottom of a Missouri Voters Registration form, linked above.



With all of that said, I don't know how much it'll hurt your ROC. There is no place on the ROC paperwork that asks the same questions that the N-400 asks. It could come up if they see it, but they may not see it. It's pretty much a case of wait and see if they know or not. If you willingly give them the info during your ROC though, you may have a bad time. You'll basically give them a reason to say no, it's like bringing the murder weapon straight to the cops and saying you did it.

But you may never be able to become Naturalized.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Ash.1101

[RodDetroit 118]

Hi Everyone,

I am now in the process of removing condition on my residency. I just recently found out that as a permanent resident I cant register to vote and vote. When I got my driver's license 2 years ago they asked me at Motor Vehicle if I want to register to vote even I presented my birth certificate and green card as an identification so I asked if I still can register she said yes..so I went ahead and registered. Last Primary election I went and vote, thinking since they sent me my voter's ID i am eligible to vote. It was just yesterday when I thought of looking up online and found out that what I did was a big mistake. I rushed to my County Clerk's office and cancelled my regiatration. I will go back Friday after the election to get some sort of letter that will confirm that I cancelled my regiatration, history of my voting and copy of my registration form. My question is how this event will affect my on going Removal of Condition Process? And what else can I do? Does anybody here experienced this too? Please help...i'm really freaking out reading the stuff on the internet that my petition could be denied and I could face deportation.

Thanks..

WOW you screwed your selfover!! everybody knows that only US citizens can vote!!. that might be a felony , you wont be able to become a US citizen.

[charmander 692]

We all now how easy it is to register to vote in US. Most people register to vote just like you did at DMVs while applying for DLs. Actual voting is another story but even in voting there is no mechanism to check if the voter is actually a citizen. I went to vote this morning and debating whether I should take my passport with me or not, I didn't. When I walked in I thought they would at least check my driver's license and to my surprise they didn't even check that. Anyway I'm just trying to point out how easy it is to register to vote and then go vote in US.

Your ROC won't be affected by this but most likely your naturalization will be. Nevertheless, I will find it impossible to believe there hasn't been a single GC holder in the history who voted in a US election not knowingly and later naturalize successfully. Millions and millions of immigrants, and not a single one like you one would definitely shock me. When the time comes, find a good immigration lawyer (hopefully one that has taken a case like this before, specifically ask if they have experience in this) and proceed accordingly. You did the right thing de-registering yourself. Keep those records in a safe place. Who knows what the outcome would be even with the best lawyer but this is something that you definitely need legal advice.

[RodDetroit 118]

this article may help you

http://www.kraftlaw.com/legal-articles/voting-while-holding-a-green-card-can-cause-immigrants-major-problems/

"Non-citizen voting can be a costly mistake for immigrants, who risk having their applications for citizenship denied, their green cards revoked, and deportation proceedings initiated if they vote in U.S. elections. Learn more about your rights."