I unknowingly voted as a permanent resident, HELP!

[zilchfox 296]

OP, you dun goofed. The best advice I have for you is to lawyer up, and/or prepare planning for potentially deportation in the future. The law is pretty cut and dry about LPRs and voting, and you hear stories of deportations regarding it all the time. I wish I had better advice for you. De-registering is probably a good idea, but hiding and laying low is not, as that will not make your problem go away. You threw out your chances of ever becoming a U.S. Citizen.

Edited March 22, 2017 by zilchfox

[yuna628 9,744]

6 hours ago, NicoAndNelle said:

For my knowledge based on this situation can someone please tell me, so when you go to the DMV for your drivers license, is it one form inclusive of several options and they tick off accordingly and then you sign? Or when you registering to vote or whatever else you have separate forms? Am just trying to be clear as to how some.people are mistakenly registered

In this state it was pretty much the final question they ask you at the DMV when you get a license (they'll ask things like ''do you want to be an ''organ donor'', do you want ''to vote'', do you want to ''donate funds to X cause'' etc). They used to ask verbally or sometimes not at all and then you had to rely on the person at the desk to not be ignorant and sign you up anyway or make sure it wasn't done by mistake. These days it comes up on a little computer screen which you select ''yes'' or ''no'' (but yes will be ticked by default in the computer so unless the immigrant selects no or the employee screws up.... you get the idea). This is just the case for this state only. Every DMV is different though I'm sure, and I'd bet it still happens by mistake. But registering to vote can be removed if you go through a process (not sure why others think it's too difficult to do.. it can be done by citizens as well if they wish and there's a few threads of immigrants who were wrongly signed up getting themselves removed as Nuestra mentioned).... but once you actually cast a vote it's far too late. If you willingly did it, there's consequences to that.

Edited March 22, 2017 by yuna628

[Mollie09 1,543]

I actually had the scare of my life when I moved and updated my address with the DMV. Got a letter from the voter registration office from my new town saying they tried to transfer my voter records there as I had requested, but couldn't find my voting record from my old town, asking me to register with them all over again.

 

I never registered to begin with. I never asked to be registered before or now. Someone pushed the wrong button when entering my application or disregarded the filled out paper when I marked a big X that I DID NOT want to register to vote and registered me to vote anyways. It was terrifying.

[charmander 692]

Unfortunately you did the worst mistake you could do.  Registering to vote is bad but actually voting is super duper bad. People unknowingly register to vote because it is so easy to do so at DMVs while renewing DLs, etc. but there is not much "accidentally did" card for voting. We all know how easy it is to register to vote and then actually vote but gov't doesn't care. I've read a few cases for successfully going through N400 with voter registration but I have not seen a single "voted" case that pass through N400. If someone finds such a sample case on internet, please share the link. I have however seen cases whose N400s were denied due to voting but USCIS does not initiate any deportation process afterwards. this may depend on the administration in charge at that time, who knows how Trump's administration would handle these kind of cases, but I wouldn't risk doing this for the next four years at least.

 

As others said your chance of naturalization is almost certainly gone unless you find a really really good lawyer who successfully represented cases like yours in the past. Beyond that do what you need to do and de-register yourself from the voter list. keep the records in a safe place.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

9 hours ago, Becci391 said:

I think even if you only register your name to vote you somehow have to verify that you are a US-citizen. And if not than there should be written something like"I hereby declare that I'm a US-citizen and that I'm aware of consequences if I violated the law."

 

All voter registration cards are REQUIRED by federal law to ask if you are a USC. It is the very first question that is asked. You either check yes or no, and the section right ABOVE the signature line is usually a statement saying that you hereby have answered all questions truthfully under the perjury of the law and yadda yadda. When you sign that, you are signing that you infact know if you are lying that there will be consequences. Which goes back to please read EVERYTHING you sign.

To the OP and others who may have registered to vote:

One of the questions on the naturalization application says: PART 12 ITEM 1: "HAVE YOU EVER CLAIMED TO BE A U.S. CITIZEN (IN WRITING OR ANY OTHER WAY)?"

If you have EVER registered to vote, this answer is yes. Simply by registering and having it approved, would show that you answered YES to the "ARE YOU A U.S. CITIZEN" question. There is a reason they state on the N-400 if you claimed it in writing or any other way, because voter registration is the most common way to accidentally/purposely claim you are a US.

 

[zilchfox 296]

It all boils down to reading the fine print, too many people just simply check "YES, YES, YES" down the list without actually reading the question.

[SennaBrigante 92]

18 hours ago, f f said:

first thing is get unregistered to vote. citizenship might never be an option for you now as you have made a claim to false claim to citizenship. you may get by in the is if you never apply for citizenship but when you do they ask the questions that you have to answer truthfuly.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/02/14/noncitizen-faces-deportation-illegal-voting-getting-drivers-license/amp/

lady did the same thing as you and ends up in removal proceedings when she applied for citizenship.

 

I'm sorry

Breitbart though?

 

Here's something more recent and reputable https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/us/voter-fraud-fort-worth-trial-rosa-marie-ortega.html

 

Sorry, OP. The best case scenario for you at this point is to only get deported without jail time. 

[TBoneTX 46,276]

Every time Mrs. T-B. had to renew or update her driver's license, I went with her, scrutinized the whole process, and made undeniably sure that the DMV employee did not register Mrs. T-B. to vote.  I even leaned over the counters and had the employees show me the computer screen before they hit "enter."

[fcl 42]

Naturalization is probably out of the question for you, unless there is some legal process on your behalf.  Best bet is either to seek legal counseling, or lay low, since you are facing prosecution for a serious offense.    

As i say, hope for the best, plan for the worst.

[caliliving 606]

i would agree to seek legal counsel but i really think u should lay low, and u just stay a LPR and not even bother worrying about becoming a citizen as that is out of the question for sure.  

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

9 hours ago, cyclone27 said:

Not the same for every state - MD for example MVA just asks if you like to register to vote on a touch screen no mention of being a US citizen requirement. (Clerk sort of pushes it)

 

I told the clerk that my wife is not a US citizen so she can't by law register/vote. I had the impression the MVA staff do not care so it's your responsibility to be vigilant on voter registration and jury duty.

 

 

of course it is different for each state

9 hours ago, caliliving said:

I just googled the Califrornia DMV form and it says do u want to register to vote.

it says nothing about being a USC or not.. so basically people need to understand the law before they fill out the form.  but it does not ask if you are a USC or not.  

The DL44 driver's license application form only asks this yes. But if you say yes to that, you have to fill out the attached voter registration card, which does ask.

 

It looks like this, and has a warning of it being a felony and a declaration of being a US citizen in the bottom right.

[caliliving 606]

Found this on an older thread from someone that voted and i think its valuable advice. 

 

 

I understand where you were coming from, and there's really no point in slapping yourself in the face. We all make mistakes and have to live with the consequences. Life goes on, however.

At this point you have a great status quo: you have an "unlimited" Green Card that you can renew every 10 years without having to prove anything. This is the status you need to preserve. Any move from hereone toward citizenship jeopardizes your status. It's not worth it.

If you submit your N-400 and state you voted, you are guilty of misrepresentation and most likely will be ordered deported. If you state you did not vote, and the comprehensive background check reveals that you are on the voters' database, you are guilty of the same and also will most likely be deported. If you do not submit any new petitions, what you did will fade away into nowhereland and most likely never surface again.

Just enjoy being a resident and, aside from that, in writing ask that your name is being taken off the Voters' Registry. Wait a few years and then check the N-400 form again. It is possible that someday Green Card holders will be able to vote, and at that time the question will disappear from the N-400 form.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

3 minutes ago, caliliving said:

Found this on an older thread from someone that voted and i think its valuable advice. 

 

 

I understand where you were coming from, and there's really no point in slapping yourself in the face. We all make mistakes and have to live with the consequences. Life goes on, however.

At this point you have a great status quo: you have an "unlimited" Green Card that you can renew every 10 years without having to prove anything. This is the status you need to preserve. Any move from hereone toward citizenship jeopardizes your status. It's not worth it.

If you submit your N-400 and state you voted, you are guilty of misrepresentation and most likely will be ordered deported. If you state you did not vote, and the comprehensive background check reveals that you are on the voters' database, you are guilty of the same and also will most likely be deported. If you do not submit any new petitions, what you did will fade away into nowhereland and most likely never surface again.

Just enjoy being a resident and, aside from that, in writing ask that your name is being taken off the Voters' Registry. Wait a few years and then check the N-400 form again. It is possible that someday Green Card holders will be able to vote, and at that time the question will disappear from the N-400 form.

from the thread that the OP already posted in prior to this one.. from 2010..yes I read it too.. Although it's already been 7 years since then... could still happen, but I think it's unlikely under the current administration.

[caliliving 606]

4 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

from the thread that the OP already posted in prior to this one.. from 2010..yes I read it too.. Although it's already been 7 years since then... could still happen, but I think it's unlikely under the current administration.

I tjink the ppoint is citizenship is oit of the question for u unless u want to be deported...keep renewing ur greencard and get off thr viter registration list. Lay low and thats all u can do. Not the end of the world to not be a citizen. 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

3 minutes ago, caliliving said:

I tjink the ppoint is citizenship is oit of the question for u unless u want to be deported...keep renewing ur greencard and get off thr viter registration list. Lay low and thats all u can do. Not the end of the world to not be a citizen. 

by "you" I assume you are meaning the OP