You are on page 1of 2

Voting without U.S. Citizenship is a Crime!

1
If you are a citizen of the U.S., it is your right and your duty to vote. But if you are not a citizen of the U.S., voting -- or even registering to vote could be a serious crime.1

You can be fined! You can be jailed! You can be deported!


Lying about your citizenship status or providing false information on a Maryland voter registration form is a state crime, punishable by a fine of up to $1000 and/or imprisonment up to 5 years. 2 Encouraging someone else to provide false information on their voter registration form is a state crime, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years. 3 Lying about your citizenship status on a Maryland voter registration form can lead to your deportation. 4 Lying about your citizenship status on a Maryland voter registration form can prevent you from ever again getting a visa to travel to the U.S. 5 Voting1 when you are not a citizen of the U.S. is a state crime, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years. 6 Voting when you are not a citizen of the U.S. could lead to your deportation. 7 Voting when you are not a citizen could prevent you from ever getting a visa to travel to the U.S. 8 You should also remember that Maryland keeps a copy of your voter registration and a record of when you last voted on file. 9 Footnotes
1

Chase (Sec. 3), Somerset)


2

A small number of municipalities in Maryland (e.g., Takoma Park, Barnesville, Martins Additions, Chevy permit illegal aliens to vote in elections for municipal seats.

Md. Election Law Code Ann. 16-101 (a)(8) In general, a person may not willfully and knowingly misrepresent any fact related to registration. Md. Election Law Code Ann. 16-101 (a)(9) In general, a person may not willfully and knowingly induce or attempt to induce a person to violate any prohibition in items (1) through (8) of this subsection.. Section 344 (b) of IIRIRA created 237(a)(3)(D)(i)of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to render deportable any alien who falsely represents, or has falsely represented, himself to be a citizen of the United States for any purpose. Section 344(a) of IIRIRA created 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to render inadmissible any alien who falsely claims to be a U.S. citizen for any purpose or benefit. Md. Election Law Code Ann. 16-201 (a)(4) In general, a person may not willfully and knowingly vote in an election district or precinct without the legal authority to vote in that election district or precinct.
6 5 4 3

Section 347(b) of IIRIRA created 237 (a)(6)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to render deportable any alien who has voted in violation of any Federal, State, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation. Section 347(a) of IIRIRA created 212(a)(10)(D)(i)of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to render inadmissible any alien who has unlawfully voted in violation of any Federal, State, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation.
9 8

As mandated by the Help America Vote Act which Congress passed in 2002.

References: Maryland Election Law Code (2011) http://www.elections.state.md.us/laws_and_regs/documents/Election%20Law%202011.pdf IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT \ INA: ACT 212 - GENERAL CLASSES OF ALIENS INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE VISAS AND INELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-1956.html IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT \ INA: ACT 237 - GENERAL CLASSES OF DEPORTABLE ALIENS http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-5672.html#0-0-0-4569

www.HelpSaveMaryland.org

You might also like