Colombian woman convicted of illegal voting in 2024 federal election

A Colombian girl residing in Massachusetts has been convicted of a collection of federal identification theft and identification fraud costs, together with illegally voting within the 2024 presidential election, the Justice Division mentioned.

Federal officers have cited the case as a uncommon, documented instance of noncitizen voting rights being prosecuted on the highest ranges, highlighting the case amid renewed debate over voter identification, citizenship verification and election safety forward of the 2026 midterm elections.

Colombian Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez was convicted on federal costs of identification theft, passport fraud and unlawful voting, together with within the 2024 presidential election. She was captured on surveillance video exhibiting an “I voted” sticker on Election Day, underscoring what Justice Division officers characterised as a blatant disregard for U.S. legal guidelines.

“Her actions weren’t a one-time mistake or accident,” Shawn Rice, particular agent in command of the U.S. Division of Housing and City Growth, mentioned in a press release.

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Pam Bondi, US Lawyer Common, speaks throughout a press convention on the Division of Justice in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. (Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)

Officers have highlighted Orovio-Hernandez’s case for instance of profitable interagency cooperation and enforcement as considerations about election safety have elevated forward of the 2026 midterm elections.

The decision “sends a transparent message: identification theft and fraud towards federal advantages packages won’t go undetected or unpunished,” mentioned Amy Connelly, particular agent in command of the Social Safety Administration Workplace of Inspector Common in Boston.

The Trump administration has touted her conviction for instance of the pitfalls of weak voter identification requirements or vetting procedures.

Officers in a number of U.S. states have already taken steps to tighten their particular person verification requirements and procedures in hopes of cracking down on fraudulent voting efforts and boosting voter confidence.

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Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump raises his fist in the course of the Republican Nationwide Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

The sentencing comes amid renewed scrutiny of election administration throughout the nation, together with a current FBI raid on an election middle in Fulton County, Georgia, that licensed a broad seizure of election information, voting rolls and different knowledge associated to the 2020 election, based on a replica of the warrant.

Some Senate Democrats have expressed concern over information that Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was current on the raid, though she emphasised in a letter obtained by Fox Information Digital that the ODNI’s Workplace of Common Counsel “finds my actions to be constant and nicely inside my authorized authority as Director of Nationwide Intelligence.”

BATTLES BEHIND THE SCENES: LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD AFFECT VOTING BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS

A Spanish-language voting signal is on show at a polling place in Denver. (AP Picture/David Zalubowski, file)

The Republican Occasion has tried to embrace a brand new, lawsuit-focused “election integrity” technique within the months main as much as the 2024 normal election, as celebration officers informed Fox Information Digital on the time.

The hassle spawned dozens of lawsuits aimed toward attacking voter identification legal guidelines, tightening citizenship verification requirements and including new necessities for mail-in ballots and provisional ballots accepted by sure states.

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It’s unclear to what extent the celebration wish to repeat these efforts within the run-up to the midterm elections.