A man is facing multiple charges after authorities said he voted in an election in Miami-Dade despite not being a U.S. citizen.
Lazaro Valle-Villar, 74, is facing charges of voting as an unqualified voter, false affirmation regarding voting or elections, submission of false voter registration information and submitting a false statement to the Secretary of State, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Valle-Villar became a registered voter in Miami-Dade despite being a non-citizen, then voted in the Nov. 2, 2021 election.
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On his Florida voter application forms, Valle-Villar indicated he was a U.S. citizen and qualified to vote, prosecutors said.
Records showed Valle-Villar was booked into a Miami-Dade jail on Wednesday and was being held on $4,000 bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
Records showed Valle-Villar was born in Cuba and came to Florida in 1980 but was deported in 2006 after six felony convictions in Miami-Dade.
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"Voting is a right extended to every American citizen," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "Lazaro Valle-Villar could have become a citizen and voted legally if he had just made the effort. However, he did not. I am proud to be working together with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security and the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office to help ensure the integrity of our voting process."