By Kimone Witter
A Jamaican man and a Venezuelan woman have been charged separately with illegally voting in a federal election and making false statements while applying for United States citizenship.
Terrance Reid, 61, who is residing in Orange, New Jersey and 49-year-old Danubis Bernat, a resident of South Amboy, New Jersey, appeared in federal courts on Thursday.
The authorities say Reid and Bernat were non-citizens when they registered to vote.
In their voter registration forms, they each falsely certified and attested that they were United States citizens.
In order to register, and to vote in federal elections, a person must be a United States citizen.
The courts heard that the defendants also cast ballots in at least one federal election.
After illegally voting in federal elections, the defendants applied to become United States citizens by submitting applications for naturalisation, and falsely claimed that they had never registered to vote or voted in any federal elections.
The counts of voting by an alien carry a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment, and a fine of up to US$100,000.
The counts of making false statements while applying for United States citizenship carry a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to US$250,000.
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